


Baby Bunny Hops

by glowinglanterns



Category: Kuroko no Basuke | Kuroko's Basketball
Genre: Fluff, M/M, Oh I guess there is some angst as well, Single Dad Furihata, Slow Burn, They're all like late-20s, Workplace AU, i mean life is full of angst
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-11-19
Updated: 2017-12-18
Packaged: 2018-08-31 23:05:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 33,834
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8597269
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/glowinglanterns/pseuds/glowinglanterns
Summary: Furihata Kouki's life was falling apart, and while his cute son Sora made him feel better about it, the problems still stood tall like barricades. And Kouki had never been the best jumper. --An AU in which single-parent Kouki is an office-worker at the Akashi Group, and has to deal with all of the shit that life keeps on relentlessly hurling at him.





	1. Everything is Going Wrong

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> **The Characters of Baby Bunny Hops Introduce This Chapter:**
> 
>  
> 
> "Whoa... that's a really tall wall..." Furihata mused, staring up at the looming brick wall. He knelt down to tighten his shoelaces, then got up to hop in place a few times. "Okay, I can do it."
> 
> Further back, Akashi was walking past the wall, until he saw someone backing up, then running straight towards it. 
> 
> Akashi almost called out, to get him to stop, but was astonished to see the person jump, and go straight over it. Sure, the person's shoes probably skimmed the top of the wall, and that scream probably meant he landed really badly, but wow. He made it. 
> 
> Akashi was in love.

Kouki didn’t know what to do.

Sora, his beautiful six year old son, was having a “Father’s Meet-and-Greet” at school in two weeks. Normally, this wouldn’t be a problem. Sora was his son, and he was Sora’s father.

But he had already gone to the Mother’s Meet-and-Greet, because he didn’t want Sora to feel lonely on that day. It wasn’t his fault that his mother had upped and abandoned them both with little more than a note citing her need to “explore other options”.

It was Kouki’s.

That wasn’t the point, however, of his current concern, he reminded himself sternly as he added more sugar to his coffee. The point was that he couldn’t go to the Father’s Meet-and-Greet.

He wanted to go. He had no problem with going. It was the school administration, as well as the other parents that were making him second guess his choices.

When he had gone, he had gotten weird, almost judgemental, stares from all the mothers and the teachers. And then they had started questioning him.

Kouki was pretty open about his family situation, and Sora had also learned to live without a second parent. Besides, Kouki’s brother Kohaku and his wife Yoko were with Sora enough to stave off most of the need for more than just Kouki.

He was trying his best, really. But the people at school didn’t seem to think so. They raised their brows and tossed looks between themselves that were gone too quickly for Kouki to properly understand them. But he felt it, almost immediately. This feeling of being pushed a little out of the circle. And he could tell Sora felt it too. The grip on his hand tightened and Sora slowly maneuvered himself to be hidden behind Kouki’s leg.

It hurt his heart.

So, to make it up to Sora, Kouki had to find someone absolutely extraordinary to go to Sora’s Father’s Meet-and-Greet event in two weeks.

But that came with another set of problems. Should Kouki find someone to pretend to be Sora’s father? Or should he find someone to pretend to be Sora’s mother?

If he found someone to act as Sora’s mother, then the school would heavily question why Sora’s parents were switching places, and why she hadn’t just gone to the Mother’s Meet-and-Greet, and also, _weren’t you supposed to have left Furihata-san? Did he lie? Is Furihata-san dating recklessly? Is he not thinking of Sora’s mental health? What kind of environment is little Sora growing up in? Hello, Social Services? Yes, we have a family we’d like you to look into…_

On the other hand, if Kouki sent a man to go to the Father’s Meet-and Greet? They would think he was in a relationship with a man. And while he wouldn’t mind, Kouki could already imagine the types of sneers and jeers he would get, let alone the bullying Sora might have to deal with. Kids were cruel, almost as cruel as their parents were.

Kouki put his head down on the café table and groaned. His head hurt. He was late to work. But the steam from the coffee that was slowly billowing into his face felt nice.

“Uh, sir? C-can I get you anything else? Um… are you alright?” said a voice, and Kouki straightened up immediately. The server was giving him an uncertain look.

Kouki smiled widely. Maybe a touch too widely, if the server’s furrowed brows were anything to go by. “No! Nope, I’m fine. Uh, I’ll pay for this, then go. Can I get it in a to-go cup?”

“… of course…,” said the server, not taking his eyes off of Kouki as he picked up the cup. Like he thought Kouki was unstable or something. Which he wasn’t. Truly. He was just stressed.

Moments later, Kouki had left the café and was heading out to work. It was a bit of a walk, but it was the more attractive option to squishing himself into the sardine can that was the train at nine in the morning.

Rather than worrying about the Sora situation, he tried to devise an acceptable excuse for his lateness. He was about half-an-hour late now. And all his excuses were falling flat.

Or maybe he was just too stressed to actually think up a good one.

He took one last sip of his coffee and tossed the cup away before he stepped into the building. Hopefully, his supervisor wouldn’t notice he was late today? Maybe?

“Furihata-san,” came a deadpan voice and Kouki winced. “You’re quite late today.”

Kouki flinched. Why, for the love of all things beautiful, was Kuroko-san in the lobby of the building? Their office was on the ninth floor.

Having Kuroko-san as a supervisor had very few perks. While of course, he was a generally kind person, he had this way of sneaking up on people at the least opportune times and giving everyone this look of “I am displeased, but I’m not going to say anything… but _know_ that I’m displeased” when he inevitably caught them doing something they shouldn’t have been.

The same look he was getting now.

“Son,” Kouki forced out, then winced. What the fuck was that?

“Sorry?” Kuroko-san asked, eyes still—for the most part—displeased. But his mouth downturned into a small frown of what seemed to be curiousity. He thought. He hoped.

 Kouki cleared his throat. “Um, my son wasn’t feeling very well today, so I was taking care of him.”

It was a lie. Sora had been especially chipper today, chattering nonstop about some soccer game he was going to have today in gym class. He hoped Kuroko-san couldn’t tell.

“I see,” Kuroko-san said, and Kouki felt a little like falling to his knees in despair. Why was this man so unreadable? Was that a good “I see” or a bad “I see”? The pressure those eyes could put a person under was much too much.

Kouki wanted to leave this situation immediately. “I’ll be sure to make sure this doesn’t happen again. S-so I’ll see you upstairs, Kuroko-san.” He bowed respectfully and swiftly turned towards the elevators, praying that the speed walk he was doing didn’t actually seem like a speed walk. But more a leisurely stroll, but still in a professional way.

“Furihata-san,” Kuroko’s voice came again, and Kouki wanted to slam his head against a brick wall. He just wanted _peace_.

Sighing, Kouki turned around to face Kuroko-san. “Yes, sir?”

“Let’s go up together. I was just about finished here.”

“Y-yes, sir,” Kouki mumbled, watching Kuroko say goodbye to the freaky security guard with the weird brows. That security guard always scared Kouki. Mostly because he saw him the most, since Kuroko-san was fond of hanging around him. But most of the security guards scared him, generally.

Another contender of “Who Was the Scariest Guard?” was this guy with dark blue hair who always looked pissed off. But he wasn’t as scary as the eyebrows guy because the blue-haired guy was always being knocked down a peg or two in terms of his ego by this pretty pink haired girl. He wasn’t sure what the pink haired girl did, he just knew that she was important, because she was always giving talks at the meetings with the CEO that Kouki wasn’t allowed to go to. He just saw her through the glass walls of the room.

“Ready, Furihata-san?”

Kouki blinked in surprise. He must have spaced out. “Yes, sir.”

They quietly made their way to the elevator. And when the door opened with a _ding_ , it was empty.

He couldn’t tell whether this was a blessing or not. It could be a blessing, because now he didn’t have to feel more suffocated than he already did. But it could also not be one, because now he was going to have to stand in awkward silence with Kuroko-san.

Kouki pressed the button for the ninth floor and stood back, taking a deep breath. It would be okay. Kuroko-san wouldn’t say anything, and neither would Kouki, and it would be fine. Sora’s situation would be fine. He’ll eventually get over his wife leaving him. He would be okay with Kohaku moving all the way to Miyagi. And his parents were probably having a fine time in Thailand, and were not lost on some unnamed island.

“Furihata-san?”

“Y-yes?”

“You seem stressed. I’m sure your son will be fine.”

Kouki snuck a glance at Kuroko-san in confusion. “A-ah, yes, thank you,” he replied, because while that wasn’t the thing he was worrying about at all, it was nice of Kuroko-san to notice anyway.

“Is something else bothering you?” Kuroko-san asked, and Kouki wished that they would just reach up to the ninth floor already. But it was only the fifth, and somehow no one else had gotten in yet. Why. Why.

Spending time with Kuroko-san was hard, not just because of the fact that he was the supervisor, but also because he was unreadable and always asked the right questions. He shouldn’t have been a supervisor of the marketing division for the Akashi Group, he should have been an interrogator for the Tokyo Police.

Kouki tried to dodge the question with a laugh that unfortunately came out sounding grating and forced. “N-no! Of course not.”

The door opened. It was the ninth floor. Kuroko-san gave him an unimpressed look. “See me in my office once you’ve put away your things.”

And then he was gone.

Kouki stepped out of the elevator and into the office corridor before the doors shut with him still inside. He shut his eyes and smacked a palm to his face. He supposed he was going to have a bad day. He should just accept it now.

“Why’re ya hitting yourself, buddy?” said Takao’s voice. And removing his hand, he did indeed find Takao, sporting a grin that signalled that he was about to laugh.  

“Life sucks,” Kouki answered simply, and Takao cackled, throwing an arm over his shoulder.

“That it does! Also, did I see you coming out of the elevator with Ghosty-san? Must’ve been awkward.”

Takao led him to the back of the office, where his desk was situated. “Yes,” he moaned, tossing his bag onto the chair as soon as it was within reach. “So awkward. I’m so bad when it comes to talking to him.”

“At least you don’t flat out annoy him,” Takao said with a jovial smile, leaning against his desk. He didn’t sound the least bit despondent about being considered annoying by Kuroko-san. In fact, he revelled in it. Mostly because Takao liked getting a reaction out of people. And Kuroko-san had been a big challenge for him. But he had won, so now he just sat there, in all of his irritating glory. “Y’know he’s our age? I feel bad. We should invite him out for drinks sometime.”

Kouki scrunched his nose up in displeasure. “Then I’m pulling the Sora card.”

Takao rolled his eyes. “You can’t use Sora to get out of everything, Furi, it’s not fair. At least share.”

Hanging his coat up, Kouki shot Takao a confused look. “Share Sora?”

“Share the Sora card!” Takao picked up a picture of Sora smiling from his desk and waved the frame in his face. “Don’t be selfish!”

Kouki snatched the frame out of his hand with a grin. “Get your own kid!”

“I’m trying!”

“Harassing Midorima-san every lunch break does _not_ count as trying.”

“I want his babies and I want them _now_!”

Bursting out into laughs, it took a few moments for Kouki to compose himself. Takao was good at brightening the mood. And that’s what he needed right now.  “Anyway, I have to go talk to Kuroko-san. Wish me luck.”

Takao saluted Kouki with a solemn expression as he walked away.

Reaching Kuroko-san’s shut door, he steeled himself before making three hesitant knocks.

“Come in.”

Taking a deep breath, he opened the door.

Kuroko-san’s office wasn’t anything to really marvel at, it wasn’t particularly big or extravagantly furnished, but there was this feel to it. A bright feeling. It may have to do with the floor-to-ceiling windows that let all that sunlight in. So coming in, the room itself didn’t really make Kouki nervous. It was the room’s sole inhabitant. Those big blue eyes were dangerous.

“Have a seat.”

Kouki did.

“What is worrying you?”

Well, that was blunt. Kouki bit his lip. Should he lie and say it wasn’t anything? No, but Kuroko-san could tell he was lying. It was scary. He took a deep breath. “I-I’m having a little trouble. Y’know. At home.”

Kuroko-san tilted his head in the slightest bit to the left. He supposed that was a signal to keep talking.

“U-um, I wouldn’t want to burden you with the deta—”

“Please continue, Furihata-san.”

Kouki sighed. He knew that, in reality, Kuroko-san was only being kind, and that most bosses wouldn’t care enough to take up work hours with talk of personal life. But his situation didn’t make the most sense to him, so how could he share it with anyone else? He supposed that he would have to try, at least, since Kuroko-san wasn’t leaving him much of a choice.

“Well, as you know, I have a son. He’s six. And he’s great, I love him to bits. But, um, he’s having a Meet-and-Greet thing at his school, and I can’t go. And I don’t have anyone to cover for me,” Kouki tried to say simply.

“Do you need time off?”

“N-no, that’s not the problem…”

Kuroko-san folded his hands on the desk and leaned in. “Please tell me.”

And that had been the crack in the proverbial dam that got Kouki into spilling all of his life’s greatest worries in under ten minutes; the departure of his wife last year, holding his brother back in life to help with Sora, how his parents had left to travel two months ago and how he hadn’t heard from them yet, how he felt he wasn’t adequate enough to take care of Sora, the splitting headaches he was having. He prided himself on the fact that he did not cry. His voice wobbled, and his eyes moistened, but he did not cry.

Kuroko-san put a box of tissues in front of him just in case.

 “Thank you for trusting me, Furihata-san,” Kuroko-san said simply, fixing him with a thoughtful stare. “I was not aware that things were so stressful for you right now.”

Kouki shrugged. He was emotionally drained.

“If it is okay with you, I’d like to help in any way I can. I’ll keep an eye out for any potential people to go for the Meet-and-Greet. And I can’t necessarily help with all your other problems, but if you would like to ever talk about it, here is my personal number. Perhaps I could set you up on a date with someone. That might help alleviate some of the stress,” Kuroko-san pulled out a sleek business card and scribbled his number onto the back of it with a pen. He pushed it in front of Kouki, then smiled.

Kouki tried to force a smile back. He thought that he probably looked nauseous. “I-I don’t know about a date, but finding a person for Sora’s thing would be a great help. Thank you.”

Kuroko-san nodded. “Well, then, I suppose you can go now. Please remember to contact me if you need anything. Have a good rest of the day.”

Shakily, Kouki picked up the card and stuffed it in his pocket as he gave short bow. “Thank you, Kuroko-san. I’ll, um, get back to work now. Thank you again.”

The minute he shut the door behind him, he sighed in relief. Getting out of that room felt good. Especially after having told someone about his problems. He felt a bit lighter. His headache had been pushed into a dull throbbing instead. Maybe he wouldn’t have such a bad day.

-x-x-x-

During lunch, Kuroko-san had taken it upon himself to bombard him with a different array of people. Thoughtful as Kuroko-san was, he didn’t seem to have much tact.

“How’s this one?” Kuroko-san said, nodding towards a lady who looked a good mixture of bewildered and worried.

It was only polite, then, to properly consider the people Kuroko-san was bringing to him. He looked the lady up and down. She seemed normal, respectful, and sincere. But then she sneered. “I don’t have time for this,” she said, and bowed a little sarcastically towards Kuroko-san. “I’ll be taking my leave.”

“… I guess that’s a no,” said Kuroko-san.

Kouki nodded his head.

“I’ll find someone else.”

He was gone before Kouki could protest.

Within a few seconds, one of the company’s lead industrial engineers was brought forth. This particular one had an affinity for food so he also doubled as the company’s cook sometimes, if he felt like it. Even now, the abnormally tall man was shovelling noodles into his mouth from the bowl he held in his hand. He gave Kouki a look, as if he was the weird one.

“And hi—” Kuroko-san began.

“No.”

“But wh—”

“I can’t.”

Kuroko-san seemed to understand. He patted the engineer’s arm consolingly, as if the man was even the slightest bit upset. It didn’t even seem like he knew what was going on. He seemed the type to be dragged around without questioning it. “Come on Murasakibara-kun, you tried your best.”

“You’re still gonna buy me dinner, right?”

Kuroko-san narrowed his eyes. “Not unless you’re intending to repeat last time’s incident.”

Murasakibara-san cracked a rueful smile, then shook his head. “We’ll go to a cheap buffet this time. Okay? Okay? You’ll treat me right? Right?”

“We’ll see.”

Murasakibara-san seemed to take this as a yes, because he wrapped an arm around Kuroko-san’s shoulders and jostled him into a side hug, the noodles from his bowl falling onto his sleeve. “Great, because I’m starving.”

“… you’re still eating.”

“Yeah, but I’m getting hungry just thinking about dinner.”

And they walked away.

Kouki sighed.

This proceeded on for the rest of the day—people being showcased to Kouki, and Kouki not finding a very good person to fit the role he needed them to play.

Until Kuroko-san, who looked a little winded at this point, brought forward a girl. She wore glasses, had long brown hair, and dressed very cutely. She also seemed familiar.

“Do I… know you?” Kouki asked, trying very hard to remember.

To his surprise, the girl blushed. “Ah, do I seem familiar? We worked next to each other the first year the both of us were hired.”

Kouki widened his eyes, and raised his hands apologetically. “I’m really sorry that I don’t recognize you. What’s your name? I’m—”

“Furihata Kouki-san, yes. I’m Hisashi Miho. It’s good to finally meet you properly,” she extended her hand to shake.

She had a firm grip, when Kouki reached out to take it. And her smile grew wider as they shook. But she didn’t let go. After a few more seconds, Kouki awkwardly cleared his throat. “Uh, H-Hisashi-san…?”

“Oh!” she said, dropping his hand immediately. “I’m sorry, I must have gotten distracted.”

Kouki smiled. “That’s okay, it happens to me too.”

She was cute. Her facial expressions and her smile were really nice, and she seemed kind too. He gave Kuroko-san a discreet thumbs up.

Kuroko-san blew his bangs out of his eyes in relief, taking out a handkerchief to wipe his forehead with.

“S-so, did Kuroko-san tell you what this was for…?” Kouki began.

Hisashi-san shook her head. “I was only told that I was needed for a small job.”

Kouki nodded, thinking. He should probably explain the details to her, and it wouldn’t do well to spill his life story for the second time in the office. “Would you like to get dinner together after work? I can tell you the details then.”

“D-dinner?” Hisashi-san all but gasped. She crumpled the side of her blouse in her fist. “Y-yes!”

Kouki grinned. “Perfect. Then just wait for me in the lobby after work, and we’ll go somewhere.”

“Okay!”

“Thank you, Kuroko-san,” Kouki said, turning to his supervisor, who was watching the exchange with a faint smile. “I really appreciate it.”

Kuroko-san shook his head. “Think nothing of it. I’ll see you around, Furihata-san. Hisashi-san, please follow me. I had something I wanted to ask you about.”

Hisashi-san waved at Kouki, then left with Kuroko-san. It felt like a weight had been lifted off of his chest. He felt so light. So blessedly free of worries. 

-x-x-x-

Well, that was until dinner time rolled around.

It wasn’t that there was anything particularly wrong with Hisashi-san… it was more that she was creeping him out. Severely.

And worse, it wasn’t done in any way that Kouki could actually stand up and pinpoint. It was subtle and threaded into her smallest glances and movements.

Like when they first got into the restaurant, which wasn’t a really special place. It was the local “I’m starving so I’ll take what I can get” restaurant people who worked at the Akashi Group frequented since it was simply a five-minute walk away. So he could guarantee that Hisashi-san was well acquainted with this setting, if she had worked at the Akashi Group as long as he had.

Anyway. When they had first reached the restaurant, Hisashi-san had latched onto his elbow as they had walked in, and when the hostess smiled and said, “table for two?”, she had leaned her head on his shoulder. And no matter how politely he had tried to shake her off, she remained stuck to him. Like a leech. Or super glue. Whichever one was worse (perhaps the leech, because they sucked blood out of people the same way Hisashi-san was sucking the energy and patience out of him).

Then, as the menu was brought to them, and Hisashi-san batted her lashes at Kouki and then proceeded to choose the most expensive item on the menu. Which Kouki didn’t really react to, because he assumed they were paying for themselves. Kouki’s lack of reaction pleased Hisashi-san, because she said, “Thank you, Furihata-san,” with a sweet smile. And Kouki was confused, but he nodded and smiled back, albeit a little awkwardly.

And finally, as they waited for the food, Kouki tried to explain the whole Sora situation to her. And she _mhm_ -ed and nodded along to what he said. But the second he paused, she said, “So tell me about yourself, Furihata-san.” This is where he reached the end of his patience. This was important to Kouki. And more seriously, this was important to Sora. So her completely pushing aside the whole reason did not set well with him.

It wasn’t acceptable to stand up, point an accusatory finger at her face and yell, “You’re being weird as fuck!”, no matter how much he wanted to do so. So instead he took a deep breath, shut his eyes for a moment, and repeated his mantra of the past few weeks.

_This is for Sora, this is for Sora, this is for Sora._

Finally, he opened his eyes and Hisashi-san was there, smiling expectantly.

“Hisashi-san,” Kouki began, and balled his right hand into a fist under the table, for strength, “Forgive me if I’m wrong, b-but I hope you know this isn’t a date. I wanted to ask you to do a job for me, and I’m going to compensate you, but I need to you listen first. It’s… it’s a really serious matter for both me and my son. And I feel as if you haven’t listened to a word I’ve said concerning him.” Kouki released a quiet sigh. He wasn’t the confrontative type. Giving a tiny lecture like that was making him want to start shaking, the same way he had when he was a teenager put in a tough situation.

“I,” Hisashi-san croaked out, eyes wide. She cleared her throat and fidgeted with her fingers, lowering her gaze. “I’m sorry, Furihata-san. I-I’ve always been eager to talk to you, so I got a bit carried away.”

Now Kouki just felt bad. He shook his head, giving her a gentle smile. “It’s alright. Even though I don’t get why you’d be eager to talk to me,” he laughed. “Should we go over the job that I’m hoping you’ll do, again?”

Hisashi-san looked up, surprised. “Ah, you’ll still let me help? I’ll do my best. Please go over the details again, if you don’t mind.”

The rest of dinner went on without any other hiccups, and Hisashi-san agreed to go to the Father’s Meet-and-Greet acting as Sora’s step-mother. They even set a date for Hisashi-san to meet with Sora, tomorrow evening.

It was going okay.

He left the restaurant and headed home, making it just in time for the next train. As he stood, gripping onto the pole, squished against several other people coming home from work, he thought about Hisashi-san.

In all honestly, he still got the creepy vibe from her, and all that “eager to talk to him” bullshit? He didn’t buy it.

He could admit that his ex probably left him a little scarred in that aspect—believing that others found him desirable was still a bit difficult. Or a lot difficult. Just difficult. But even if he hadn’t had that history with his ex, he still wouldn’t have believed her.

All in all, he got a feeling from Hisashi-san that left him the slightest bit uncomfortable, but there wasn’t anything he could do. Kuroko-san had done so much trying to find him someone to help him. He had to be grateful for what he had. Besides, he wouldn’t have enough time to find someone new. He had work to do, and Sora to take care of.

Yes, he’d have to settle with Hisashi-san. It was only until the Father’s Meet-and-Greet, and then he’d give Hisashi-san the 100,00 yen and be done with her for good.

Just then, the subway car took an abrupt turn and everyone nearly tripped backwards. Some grubby old guy elbowed Kouki in the stomach, and the surprise blow caused him to let go of the pole he was holding.

“Shit,” he squeaked, grabbing out to catch anything to help him regain his steadiness. It happened to be the coat of some guy who stood straight and tall amongst all the momentary chaos.

The tugging on his coat did surprise him, and he glanced down to see Kouki, who was basically hugging his torso at this point, struggling to right himself.

The man he’d grabbed removed an earbud from his ear and raised a brow.

Kouki stared back, wide eyed. This person had the reddest hair he had ever seen. Was it natural? Wai—what? Were his eyes red too? Contacts? It was probably another case of a cosplay gone too far. Or not. He recalled the other people at work. The engineer guy had purple hair. And there was the pink haired girl, and Midorima-san had green hair. Kuroko-san had blue hair. It was just weird seeing colourfully haired people outside of work. At the Akashi Group, tons of people had weird-ass hair colours and they all claimed it was natural.

“May I help you?” the man asked.

The train had stopped at a station, and a generous amount of people filed out, grumbling as they straightened their suits. Kouki immediately stood up, laughing awkwardly. He scratched the back of his head. “Um, you already have. Th-thanks. And uh, sorry. For, y’know, gr-grabbing you and stuff…” he trailed off into a mumble, looking away.

The man put his earbud back into his ear and went back to gazing out the window. “Hmm.”

Kouki took that as his apology being accepted and as casually as he could, he slinked to the other side of the train to take a seat as far away as he could from the guy. That was awkward.

Kouki smiled wryly to himself. _Sora, your father is a mess._

-x-x-x-

“Soraaaaaa!” Kouki called, bursting through the door of his apartment. “I’m home! I need emergency hugs!”

Sora immediately ran down the hallway in his little plastic fireman’s hat and star-speckled pajamas. “I’ll save you!” he valiantly proclaimed, and gave Kouki’s leg the biggest hug.

He could feel his worries melting by the millisecond.

Kouki looked up when he heard his brother click his tongue in annoyance, walking out of Sora’s bedroom. “I was just about to get him to sleep, Kou.”

Kouki grinned. “Thanks Nii-san. You can go home now. Or stay, it’s kinda late.”

Kohaku nii-san shook his head smiling to himself. “Nah, Yoko is waiting for me. She says she has something planned.” The lewd twinkle in his eye made Kouki balk.

“Gross, Nii-san, I don’t wanna hear about things like that from you,” Kouki scrunched his nose up and then glanced down at Sora. “Isn’t Oji-chan gross?”

Sora laughed in delight. “Yeah! Gross, ‘Ji-chan!”

Nii-san walked towards the front door, grabbing his coat from where it had been tossed over the sofa. “Oi, you won’t be saying I’m gross when you’re older. Then, you’ll be asking for my help _to be_ gross. And I’ll remind you of this conversation.”

Kouki immediately placed his hands over Sora’s ears. “Nii-saaaan, Sora doesn’t need to know about that now!”

He laughed his usual, boisterous, louder-than-life laugh and ruffled Kouki’s hair as he passed him by. “You’ll still be saying that when he’s in high school.”

Kouki sniffed indignantly. “Of course I will!”

Kohaku Nii-san rolled his eyes and slipped into his shoes. “Yoko’s gonna take Sora to our place tomorrow so he can play with Aki and Toshi, okay? But I’ll bring him back before you get home.”

“Thanks, Nii-san…,” Kouki sighed, and Nii-san cuffed Kouki lightly over the head with his knuckles.

“Hey, you have that look on your face again. You’re not inconveniencing us, so shut up. It’s fine.”

“Okay, okay, go, otherwise Yoko-chan won’t be in the mood for gross things anymore,” he swatted Nii-san’s hand away with a smirk.

Nii-san gave a small yelp and dashed out the door.

Sora laughed at his uncle’s abrupt departure and Kouki ran his hands through Sora’s messy hair in affection.

Sora had inherited only his brown hair from Kouki, but everything else was from his mother—his light eyes, broad smile, and natural agility. In terms of personality as well: he was loud and outgoing, always sure of his actions and plowed through life like a bulldozer. It worried him, a little, how he’d be when he grew up. Would he just up and leave someone else the same way his mother had?

Kouki shook his head and gazed down at Sora, who had let go of Kouki’s leg and was now very enthusiastically telling him about school that day, hand movements and all. No. Never. He’d make sure Sora wasn’t as fickle and fleeting as his mother. And besides, those big, cute eyes would never hurt a soul. Never ever.

“And then Sensei said, ‘Furihata-kun, you can’t put glue all over your hands just because it’s fun, because it’s a _waste_ ’. And so I stopped, ‘Tou-chan, but I was really mad! So I told my best friend Mitsu-chan that if you were having fun with the glue, it wasn’t a waste at all! And Mitsu-chan said I was super smart, even smarter than Sensei. And then I taught him how to do the glue thing when Sensei wasn’t looking and he said thank you and even gave me one of his cookies that his ‘Kaa-chan put in his lunch!” Sora explained, making such broad hand motions that his fireman’s hat was knocked off of his head. He didn’t notice.

Kouki took his shoes off. “Ah, Sora, you should listen to Sensei, though.”

Sora shook his head. “I _did_! But it doesn’t mean that she’s right!”

At least he was a free thinker. Kouki chuckled and pecked a small kiss to Sora’s cheek. “That’s true. As long as you’re not causing too much trouble for Sensei.”

“Nope! I’m really good! I got three stickers this week for good behaviour and also because I did good on my spelling test!”

Kouki paused in taking off his jacket to slowly turn and give Sora a wide-eyed, over exaggerated look of surprise. “ _Three_?”

Sora’s smile was of barely contained pride, hands behind his back, rocking back and forth on the balls of his bare feet. “Mhm!”

Kouki shucked his jacket off and immediately gathered Sora into his arms to smother him with kisses. “Three whole stickers! I’m so proud! Wow! You’re so cool, Sora!”

Sora shrieked brightly at the onslaught of love and pulled away, breathing hard but grinning even harder. “Can I have a prize?”

“Of course!”

“Can Mitsu-chan have a sleepover with me?”

Kouki sat down on the floor, leaning against the back of the couch. “Hmm, if Mitsuo’s parents say yes, then okay. I’ll ask his mom tomorrow when I drop you off to school.” At the mention of a mom, Kouki deflated, remembering Hisashi-san. “But you gotta do one thing for me first, okay Sora?”

Sora leaned in close, nodding energetically. “Okay!”

“You gotta meet someone tomorrow, and be good.”

At this, Sora crinkled his nose and sat down as well. “Is this what ‘Ji-chan said? He said one day you’d have a girlfriend. Is this your girlfriend? Is she my new mom? I don’t like her.”

Kouki shook his head. “No, no!” the thought of walking into a romantic relationship with Hisashi-san _voluntarily_ made his nerves flare up. “Y’know how we need someone to go to your Meet-and-Greet? I was thinking about sending her.”

“But that’s for _dads_ , ‘Tou-chan. You’re ‘pposed to go.”

“But I went to the one for moms.”

“Then go to this one too!”

Kouki chewed his lip in thought. He could go. But the Sensei and the other parents really disapproved of the single parent lifestyle, and he didn’t know why. Perhaps it was because the school he was sending Sora to was one of the more traditional ones. He had thought that sending Sora to a good school to make up for his ex would be a good thing, but it was giving him more of a headache.

And really, he didn’t wanna deal with this stuff alone.

The sudden hit of loneliness surprised Kouki, but he pushed it to the back of his mind for a moment. “I’ll go too. But I need to go with someone. They don’t like it when you go alone.”

“That’s stupid,” Sora pouted, crossing his arms.

“Yeah…,” Kouki agreed, then snapped to attention, “Oi, did you just say stupid?”

Sora’s eyes widened, and then he gave Kouki his best smile. “A-ah, sorry?”

Kouki flicked Sora’s forehead lightly and rolled his eyes. “Don’t use mean words. Now, bed. Oji-chan fed  you right?”

“Yeah but I didn’t like it! It had seaweed, ‘Tou-chan! I don’t like seaweed!” Sora loudly complained. “And ‘Ji-chan was so mean, he said, ‘take it up with your dad, kid’ and gave me even more!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HELLO HERE IS A STORY
> 
> I hope you like it. I kinda love this AU and i'm going to work hard not to loaft too much on updating. Maybe I'll finish this story. Who knows. 
> 
> Leave me your feedback, I'd love to hear it!!! IMPROVING MY WRITING IS A BIG THING FOR ME, SO DON'T HOLD BACK.


	2. Things Continue to Go Wrong

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> **The Characters of Baby Bunny Hops Introduce This Chapter:**
> 
>  
> 
> "I should really start working my legs out," Furihata speculated out loud, doing a few squats experimentally. "The walls just keep on getting higher. I can barely jump them anymore."
> 
> A bit farther behind Furihata, Akashi made a thoughtful sound, tapping his lips with his finger. 
> 
> "What is it, Akashi-kun?" Kuroko asked. 
> 
> "I've realized that I'm into butts," Akashi explained, watching Furihata do another squat. Yes. He was very much into butts. 
> 
> "I see," Kuroko acknowledged. "I like backs, myself."
> 
> "Ahh, backs are good as well. You have a good eye, Kuroko," Akashi was appreciative of Kuroko's taste. 
> 
> "Thank you, Akashi-kun."

The next day was Thursday. He dropped Sora off at school, and talked to Mitsuo’s mom about a sleepover. It was a bit tough. Mitsuo’s mom was one of those moms who had given Kouki _that look_ about being a single parent—pitying, but not sympathetic. Worried, but not in the right way. But because they had met previously through the sheer will of both Mitsuo and Sora, she had learned to accept Kouki, more or less.

“Who will watch them? Won’t you have work?” Mitsuo’s mom asked suspiciously. “I don’t want to leave my child unsupervised, or with someone I don’t know.”

Ah, she was referencing Kouki’s brother and sister-in-law.

Kouki did his best to keep a pleasant smile on his face. “I come home around six p.m., so you can drop Mitsuo then. By that time my brother will have left and it would be just me and Sora at home.”

She raised a brow. “Can you handle it? Taking care of one child alone is already a full plate, a second one might be too much.”

_This is for Sora, this is for Sora, this is for Sora._

“Don’t worry, I take care of my niece and nephew, as well as Sora all the time. I can handle it,” Kouki’s smile felt a bit pained.

She sighed. “Well, I suppose it might be okay then. Did you say this Friday? I’ll drop him off at six.”

And then she left.

What an annoying woman.

But Mitsuo was fantastic, and Kouki adored him. Sora did too. So it would be alright.

Kouki glanced at his watch, then sighed. He had to get to work now.

He turned to leave, but just as he did, he heard some muffled tapping. He looked back.

Sora was pointing at Mitsuo’s mom’s retreating back, and making a questioning face.

Kouki gave him two thumbs up.

Sora’s face brightened and he pulled Mitsuo up to the window to high five and wave goodbye at Kouki. Mitsuo was cute. He was a small, pudgy, clumsy kid with big glasses and the nicest hair he had ever seen on a six-year-old.

Kouki smiled at them both, then left for work.

The subway ride there was as horrible as usual. Even worse, some pervert tried to stick his hand up a teenage girl’s skirt and the subway had to be halted for a good thirty minutes for the police to sort out the dispute and escort the guy off the train. People were so disgusting. He felt bad for the girl as well.

Apparently someone else did too. He couldn’t see clearly through the throngs of people stuffed into the train car, but he heard a person ask if the girl was okay, and if she wanted his coat and his seat for the remainder of the ride.

What a nice person.

It made Kouki smile.

And when a few people cleared, and the high school kids started to get off, he saw the girl who had been assaulted return the coat back to the man who had given it to her. First, he was amazed that the girl decided to still go to school even after going through something so scary.

And second, it was the guy from last night. The person he had fallen into. The red haired guy.

Kouki turned his face away, immediately. He did not want to be seen by this person, in case he remembered Kouki falling onto him. Facing the opposite direction, Kouki inched past the man. Once he was on the other side, he swiftly marched to the end of the car and sat down on a newly vacated seat.

But, since the world worked against him, they made eye contact for maybe half a second, and Kouki turned away so fast he almost gave himself whiplash.

The rest of the ride was spent in concentrating on his fingers and sitting stiffly until he reached his stop.

The second the doors opened, he shoved himself onto the platform, past the mob of people trying to get out. But, of course, it was him, so he ended up tripping over his feet and grabbing hold of the person directly in front of him by the back of his jacket to steady himself.

Red hair.

Oh fuck.

He let go immediately and tried to conspicuously blend in with the crowd, but the person looked back with keen, narrowed eyes. They zeroed onto him immediately.

Kouki gave him a bashful grin, waving awkwardly.

The line of the person’s mouth flattened and Kouki hoped that he could escape the situation unscathed and maybe with enough time to not be late to work.

But, of course, the universe seemed to take pleasure in working against him.

He had scurried past the red haired man with an apologetic bow of his head, and kept his head low as he speedwalked down the sidewalk to his workplace. It was about five minutes of a walk, if he moved with urgency.

When he finally reached the building’s revolving doors, he felt relieved and took a small glance back at the distance he had covered, only to blanch and take a second, more intensified look.

It was the red haired man.

He was coming.

He wasn’t looking at Kouki, but he was definitely walking in his direction.

Fuck. Fuck, fuck, fuck.

He immediately pushed against the door and ran into the lobby, swerving past the security guards and the other workers. He violently pushed the up elevator button about six times.

His heart was beating fast against his chest, but he steeled himself and looked over his shoulder.

HE WAS IN THE LOBBY.

Kouki screamed silently, hopping from foot to foot as he watched the elevator slowly descend from the fifth floor.

Oh god, he was coming this way.

The elevator dinged, and Kouki slipped inside, not even waiting for the others to step out. The minute everyone had left, he pressed the button for floor nine, and then slammed his thumb against the door closing button.

He looked out into the lobby.

The red haired man was staring directly at him, eyes narrowed.

Oh sweet fucking hell.

The door couldn’t have closed any sooner.

He slumped against the wall, panting heavily. He rubbed his hands over his face.

Some dude was out to get him because he fell on him twice.

Honestly, he didn’t even blame him. But he now felt very threatened, and oh god, he knew where he worked. He could catch him if he ever worked overtime. Or any time he was alone, really.

He was dead, essentially.

He considered calling Nii-san, to tell him to take care of Sora for him. Ugh, Sora would be so disappointed if he got murdered, he wouldn’t be able to have the sleepover with Mitsuo. And Mitsuo’s mom would hate him even more.

It would be a mess.

“You’re late.”

Kouki hadn’t even noticed the door opening. Kuroko-san gave him one of his usual disapproving looks.

Kouki gazed at Kuroko-san with as much seriousness as he could muster up from every cell in his body.

“I think I’m being targeted.”

Kuroko-san rolled his eyes.

 

-x-x-x-

 

He found himself back in Kuroko-san’s office, this time accompanied by Takao, who came in because he found the topic of discussion interesting.

“So,” Kuroko-san recapped, no emotion on his face. “You’re saying that you fell onto the same person a few times, and he had followed you into this building.”

Kouki nodded vigorously.

Takao muffled a laugh behind his hand. Kouki shot Takao a glare and gave his leg a kick for good measure.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry,” Takao said, not very apologetically. He continued to grin widely. “I just think that this is stupid and also hilarious.”

“Takaaaoo,” Kouki groaned, dropping his head onto Kuroko-san’s desk.

“Can you please describe this person, Furihata-san?” Kuroko-san interrupted, ignoring the exchange.

Kouki nodded again. “Um, he’s only a little taller than me. He had like, red hair. And red eyes. Kind of like your favourite security guard, except a bit brighter. Uhh… what else? He looked kinda rich? I mean he dressed well enough? And he was nice.”

“Nice?” Kuroko-san repeated back questioningly, folding his hands in front of him.

“There was this girl, and she was assaulted on the train. But then the guy helped her out and made her feel safe I guess. I’m not sure, I couldn’t actually see it happen, I just know that it was that guy who did it,” Kouki explained, remembering that. Well, if the guy was nice enough to be kind to that girl, maybe he would have a little mercy on him?

Kuroko-san made a noise of understanding. Takao leaned forward in his chair with an eager sort of energy. “Hey, Kuroko, can we assemble a protection squ—”

“No,” Kuroko-san said, sighing. “And please, do not forget honourifics when speaking to those above you in rank. I let you get away with it, but that doesn’t mean people like Midorima-san or Akashi-san would do the same.”

Midorima-san was the head of the accounting department and was the most uptight and intimidating person Kouki had the pleasure of not meeting. Seeing Takao interact with him was enough. He didn’t understand how Takao didn’t get tired of talking to someone who shot him down after every other word.

Akashi-san was the CEO of the Akashi Group. He was apparently the new CEO, after his father retired, but Kouki was hired under his leadership, so he was the only Akashi he had known.

Well, not really known. He had never seen the CEO himself, he only knew about him. It wasn’t that odd, though. Most of the lower level workers weren’t sure what he looked like. There was a rumour that went around the first year that he was hired, that the CEO never left his office, ever.

But that wasn’t true, because Kuroko-san often spoke of meetings he had with Akashi-san and other department heads; meetings that took place specifically outside of Akashi-san’s office.

“Ah, don’t worry!” Takao said, getting up and stretching his arms. “Shin-chan doesn’t mind me that much. I can say whatever I want. Soon, he’ll take me as his lover and then that stuff won’t matter.”

Kuroko-san blinked slowly at Takao, probably processing the idiot’s words. Kouki kicked him again. Takao didn’t seem to care.

“… And is Midorima-san… agreeable to this?” Kuroko-san asked, a little confused.

Shrugging, Takao let himself out of the room. “He will be!” he yelled as he shut the door behind him.

It was quiet in the office for the next minute.

Then Kuroko-san sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. “That man is a whirlwind and I can’t keep up with him.”

“Yup,” Kouki agreed, albeit a bit awkwardly.

“It’s probably karma that Takao-san has latched himself onto Midorima-san,” Kuroko-san mumbled under his breath, the smallest smirk playing around his lips.

“S-sir…?” Kouki asked, because… what was that supposed to mean?

Kuroko-san’s eyes snapped back onto his. “Anyway. Furihata-san, how did the meeting with Hisashi-san go?”

Kouki couldn’t help it when his lips curled into an involuntary sneer. He quickly erased it from his face and forced a smile, instead. “Uh… well?”

“Please tell me the truth, Furihata-san.”

“She’s horrible!” Kouki blew up without hesitation, throwing his hands up. “I don’t know what she wants from me, but she was acting like she was my… my girlfriend or something? And not in a good way, either. I don’t know, I really didn’t get along with her at all, and now I have to introduce her to Sora, and I know Sora won’t like her because he’s smart.”

“Hmm,” Kuroko-san intoned. “I’m sorry she wasn’t very nice. Did you want me to try and find someone else?”

Kouki balled his hands into fists in his lap. “No,” he said, reluctantly. “That’s a lot of work, and the Meet-and-Greet is soon. She’ll be fine for now. I just hope she doesn’t want to, uh… stick around.”

The thought made him want to shudder.

Kuroko-san watched Kouki for a few seconds with a deep considering gaze; it made Kouki squirm a little. “Furihata-san, I feel it isn’t my place to say this, but because it’s such a delicate situation, I think you should know something.”

“A-ah… what is it?”

“Hisashi-san has… romantic feelings for you, I believe.”

Kouki blinked at Kuroko-san.

“Furihata-san?”

“You’re joking, right?” Kouki gaped at Kuroko-san. “I barely know her. How would she have managed to develop… feelings… for me in the span of one evening?”

Kuroko-san shrugged. “I’m not sure. Perhaps she had feelings for you beforehand. She did seem to agree to the whole thing very quickly.”

“ _How_!”

Kuroko-san shrugged again. Kouki was getting sick of that.

Sighing, Kouki stood up. “Thanks anyway, Kuroko-san. P-please let me know if you see the scary guy nearby so that I can hide.”

“Of course.”

Kouki bowed and then left the room.

As he walked to his desk, he crossed paths with Hisashi-san. “Oh! Furihata-san!”

Kouki cringed. “H-hello, Hisashi-san.”

Hisashi-san smoothed her hands over her skirt and gave Kouki a hesitant smile. “I’m excited to meet Sora tonight.”

He nodded. “I’m sure he’s excited to meet you too. I’ll see you after work,” he stepped past her. “Um, bye.”

Hisash-san opened her mouth, like she wanted to say something else, but Kouki had already began jogging away.

Whew. Dodged that one.

He really didn’t want to introduce Sora to someone even Kouki himself couldn’t stand, but he had no other options. He just hoped that all would go well.

 

-x-x-x-

 

It was going terribly.

Sora was already apprehensive about meeting someone new. He had gotten it into his mind that this was Kouki’s new girlfriend, even though he had specifically told him she wasn’t.

And he was dead set on disliking her.

The thing was, Sora was convinced that his mom was going to come back any day now, and so he was very vehemently against Kouki even talking about other women—which he didn’t, anyway, because that wound was still fresh and it hurt him just as much as it hurt Sora.

But he could tell this whole thing was stressing poor Sora out.

When they had first arrived, Nii-san left the apartment with an eyebrow wiggle and a wink, which Kouki scowled at.

Sora didn’t come running to greet him, as he usually did.

After Kouki got Hisashi-san seated on the couch in the living room, he went to find Sora. He peeked into his bedroom and found him sitting cross-legged on the carpeted floor, arms crossed, pouting magnificently.

“Hey, So-chan,” Kouki said softly, kneeling down next to his son. “What’s up with that sad face?”

Sora pouted for a few more seconds before giving in and looking up at Kouki with angry eyes. “I don’t wanna meet your new girlfriend.”

Kouki sighed and pulled Sora into his lap. “Listen, Sora,” he began, rubbing soothing circles against his back. “Hisashi-san isn’t someone I would wanna have as my girlfriend. Ever. Besides, I don’t want anybody right now. I just want to make sure you’re happy. Okay? If you really don’t like Hisashi-san, then you’ll never have to see her again, but don’t make your mind up before you’ve met her, alright?”

Sora squinted up at him suspiciously. “Promise? Promise if I don’t like her you’ll make her go away?”

Kouki stuck out his pinky, solemnly. “Pinky promise.”

Sora’s own smaller pinky wrapped around his, “Okay. Then I’ll meet her.”

Giving Sora a smile, he wrapped him in a hug. “Thank you, my brave little boy.”

“You’re welcome, my brave little ‘Tou-chan,” Sora replied, and Kouki pulled back with a startled laugh.

He tweaked his nose. “Oi, you’re getting naughty, aren’t you?”

Sora simply gave him a mischievous smile, then he got up and put his hands on his hips. “Okay, let’s go, ‘Tou-chan.” He looked as if he was readying himself to go into battle.

Kouki stood up as well, and took Sora’s hand, leading him out of the room and into the living room where Hisashi-san sat studying the photos on the wall.

“Sorry for the wait, Hisashi-san,” Kouki apologized. “This is Sora.”

Hisashi-san turned her head to nod at Sora with a polite smile. “Hello.”

Sora didn’t reply. Confused, Kouki leaned down to look at Sora, only to balk at the face he was giving Hisashi-san. Narrowed eyes, pursed lips, crossed arms. He looked mad again.

“Sora,” Kouki scolded gently. “Say hello.”

“Hello,” Sora said, in a voice as cold as a six-year-old could make it.

Hisashi-san raised a brow, but then turned her attentions back to Kouki. “So I’ll have to take him to the event, and pretend I’m his stepmother, right?”

Kouki could see Sora balling his fists up at the word ‘mother’, and put his hands on his shoulders in a hopefully comforting manner. “Yes, just for that night. I’ll be there too, so you won’t have to do much. I’ll handle most things.”

“That’s fine, then,” she said, and gave Kouki a bright smile.

Kouki smiled back awkwardly. “Um, did you want to stay for dinner?”

Hisashi-san’s eyes widened and she did that thing again where she balled up the ends of her skirt in her fists. “Yes, thank you!”

Kouki nodded. “Alright. Sora, why don’t you get to know Hisashi-san for a little bit while I get dinner ready?” he nudged Sora towards the couch. Once Sora reluctantly sat down, he headed towards the kitchen.

After he got the rice cooker on and the curry boiling in the pot, he took a moment to peek into the living room to see how things were going.

Silence.

Huh?

A little worried, he tiptoed a bit closer and stuck his head into the room.

Hisashi-san was sitting on one end of the couch, on her phone. And Sora sat on the other end of the couch, slumped into himself. He could imagine the face he was making—it wasn’t a good one.

“Sora,” Kouki gently called out, and both heads snapped in his direction. Sora’s eyes were wet. Kouki was alarmed, and he shot a glance at Hisashi-san—who was smiling at him—before beckoning his son to him. “Come help me put the plates on the table.”

Sora slid off the couch and came running, burying his face in Kouki’s stomach as he hugged him tight. Kouki gave one more confused look towards Hisashi-san before lifting Sora into his arms and carrying him into the kitchen.

He sat Sora down on the kitchen table and wiped the tears that had slowly seeped from his eyes and onto his cheeks. “What happened? Did she say something bad to you?”

Sora shook his head.

Kouki ran his hands through Sora’s hair. “Did she _do_ anything bad? Did she make a mean face at you?”

Sora mumbled something quietly, sniffling the slightest bit.

Kouki nudged Sora’s forehead with his own. “Hm? Can you say that again?”

Releasing a shuddering breath, Sora averted his eyes as he said, “she doesn’t like me.”

“How do you know that?” Kouki asked in his softest voice.

Sora sniffled a bit more before finally meeting his eyes. “She didn’t talk to me. She didn’t look at me, too. She was just playing on her phone.”

Kouki frowned. “That’s not nice at all.”

“Yeah, ‘cause ‘member you said it was bad manners to be on the phone when you’re with someone? She was doing that. And I was so sad, because she didn’t wanna be my friend. And I was trying to give her a chance like you said, ‘Tou-chan!” Sora explained, sounding upset.

Kouki pulled him in for a hug. “I’m sorry she wasn’t nice to you, So-chan. You don’t have to see her anymore, okay? Let’s just get through dinner.”

“Okay,” Sora agreed, and wiped his eyes with the back of his hand. “Gimme the plates, ‘Tou-chan!”

Kouki helped Sora off of the counter and handed him three plates and three bowls, and set some chopsticks down on the counter for Sora to get later.

Once dinner was set, Kouki called Hisashi-san to sit down.

She said her thanks and started eating. After a few bites in, Hisashi-san gave Kouki a lopsided smile. “Was Sora okay? He seemed upset.”

Sora sat there, silently shovelling food into his mouth, looking at Hisashi-san in annoyance.

Ah. Sora didn’t like being ignored.

“Sora’s fine. Uh, though, we did have a small issue,” Kouki began, hesitantly. He should do this now, because if he didn’t, he wouldn’t be brave enough to do it later.

“Yes? Anything I could do to help?” Hisashi-san asked, in a kind manner.

“Well…” Kouki began, and took a deep breath. “It seems like we won’t actually be needing anyone to go to the Meet-and-Greet anymore.”

Hisashi-san face went from surprised, to confused. “But what about all the other parents being disapproving?”

Kouki tried to shrug good-naturedly, as if the idea of facing all those parents alone didn’t scare the shit out of him. “Nope, I’ll handle it. I just realized that this wasn’t something Sora wanted, so I’m going to try to be respectful of that.”

Hisashi-san sighed and set her chopsticks down. “I see,” she said, eyes facing downwards. “Listen. I-I don’t know how to say this, but I’m going to have to.”

Kouki tried to keep a straight face—he couldn’t run away now, even though his heart was pounding really hard. He wondered what she was going to say. “Y-yes?”

“I,” she took a deep breath, and finally met his eyes. They were kind of pained. “I have feelings for you.”

“O-oh,” Kouki managed to force out. He was speechless. Kuroko-san had been right. “H-how?”

“How?” she asked, confused.

Kouki cleared his throat. “Um, I mean, how? We’ve only just m-met.”

Hisashi-san sighed and straightened her back, raising her chin. Her voice wobbled slightly, but it seemed like she was trying to be brave. “When we were first hired, the two of us worked near each other, right? I-I… I kind of developed a casual sort of crush on you then. But you were married, so I couldn’t do anything.”

“O-oh?” his voice was coming out slightly strangled, and he was trying to keep his breathing under control.

“B-but since she’s gone now, I was thinking it would be okay to… try,” she finished.

“You can’t steal my ‘Tou-chan just ‘cause ‘Kaa-chan is away for a little bit! When she’s back she’ll punch you!” Sora burst out, gripping his chopsticks tightly in each hand.

Hisashi-san furrowed her brows. “No, sweetie, your mother isn’t coming back.”

Kouki almost gasped out loud. “Hisashi-san—”

He was cut off by Sora, who stood up on his chair. “Yeah she is! And you can’t have my ‘Tou-chan ‘cause he said he doesn’t like you like that!”

Hisashi-san was bewildered for a moment, and turned to scrutinize Kouki for a moment before actually _laughing_ at Sora. “No, sweetie, you don’t know that.”

Kouki had to stop this immediately, before Sora actually tried to stab this woman. “L-listen Hisashi-san. I appreciate you having feelings for me, but I’m still not over my wife. And technically, I’m still married to her. A-and, since I have Sora, I have to be really careful about who I introduce him to, because he’s so young.”

“Yeah!” Sora agreed, sitting back down and thumping his fists against the table. “I’m super young!”

Hisashi-san’s face twisted into an injured look. “I can wait for you, really—”

“If I ever date, I’m going to have to choose someone who is compatible with Sora as well, and the two of you don’t seem to get along,” Kouki tried to explain, as kindly as he could.

Her eyes widened, “I didn’t know I was supposed to try and get along with Sora. I’m sure if I tried, he’d love me!”

Now Kouki was getting annoyed. He tried to keep his voice low; controlled. “The whole point of this meeting was for you to get to know Sora, so that you could answer questions about him if you needed to at the Meet-and-Greet. But you didn’t even make any effort to talk to him. In fact, you ignored my son completely, even when he was near tears!”

“I-I—” Hisashi-san croaked out, but Kouki was not done.

“Even worse, you talk to him as if he’s completely unintelligent. I could excuse that, maybe, for not having experience with kids, but it still doesn’t mean I would consider you for a date. If the person can’t get along with Sora naturally, then they can’t get along with me. We’re a package deal,” Kouki finished, and he was panting a little bit by the end of it.

Hisashi-san looked shocked.

“That means get out, lady!” Sora crowed loudly, and Hisashi-san shot him a quick glare, something Kouki wouldn’t have even caught if he had blinked at the wrong time.

“I’ll be leaving then. Goodbye, Furihata-san.”

Hisashi-san got up to head to the door, and Kouki followed her out, with Sora at his heels.

Just before she left, she faced Sora for a moment. “You’re a lot of trouble, aren’t you, sweetie?” she said, in this voice that was sickly sweet.

Now Kouki was just mad.

“That’s enough,” he said, and stepped in front of Sora. “Please leave.”

Hisashi-san’s expression melted into one of grief. “I’m really sorry, Furihata-sa—”

“Leave.”

Shoulders slumped, she stepped out of the apartment, and Kouki slammed the door shut, locking it. He took a moment to let out a deep exhale, resting his head against the door.

 _Sora_.

He whirled around to face his son, who looked as if he had gotten slapped. Kouki quickly kneeled next to him. “I’m so, so sorry that bad lady said those things, So-chan. You know it’s not true. Not true at all. I love you so much.”

He knew he was fretting, rubbing his hands up and down Sora’s arms, as if to keep him warm, but Sora wasn’t responding very well. Or at all, really.

“Am I a lotta trouble?” Sora asked in a small voice. His eyes were filling with tears, and Kouki’s heart was breaking. He wanted to cry too.

“No, Sora, my love, not at all,” Kouki soothed. He pulled him into his chest for a tight hug. “You’re the best thing that ever happened to me. All I want to do every day is stay with you. I’m sad when you go to school, because then I don’t get to be with you.”

“R-really?” his voice cracked, and Kouki decided now would be a good time to scoop him up into his arms and carry them both into Kouki’s room.

He shut the light and got both of them under the covers, snuggling in close. “I love you so much, Sora. I’m always gonna put you first. Like how I got rid of the lady when she was mean to you, right? You didn’t like her, so now you won’t have to see her ever again. That’s it.”

“Can I stay with you tomorrow too?” Sora asked, muffled by Kouki’s shirt.

“But you have school…” Kouki trailed off. He really didn’t want to be away from Sora tomorrow, not after tonight.

“I don’t wanna go. I wanna stay with you. Please, ‘Tou-chan? Please?”

Kouki thought about it. He wouldn’t be able to take the day off of work, not with the bills he still had to pay, and Nii-san wasn’t able to be with Sora until after school. He couldn’t leave Yoko-chan with Sora either, since she had work as well.

“Do you want to come to work with me then, So-chan?” he asked, because that was the only option left.

“Yes! Then Mitsu-chan gets to sleepover tomorrow too right? Can we get snacks?” Sora seemed to have perked up a little.

“Okay. We’ll do that, then. Now go to sleep, Sora. I’m tired. And you’re probably tired too.”

Sora sighed dramatically. “Yeah, I’m super tired. That lady was crazy. It was hard protecting you from her.”

Kouki bit his lip to stop from laughing aloud. “But you did a fine job of it, Sora. Thank you.”

“You’re welcome!”

Once Sora’s breathing had become even and deep, Kouki let his mind go back to this evening.

It had been horrible.

But the worst thing, to Kouki, was the fact that he let someone into his apartment who said such horrible things to a six-year-old. _His_ six-year-old. How could he? That wasn’t what a parent did. Parents were supposed to know what was bad for their kid and what was good right away.

He had probably scarred Sora, in one way or another. Even though his sweet boy had bounced back quickly, he knew Sora thought deeply about things, and the worst part was that he tried to keep it to himself, because he knew he didn’t want to worry Kouki.

It made his heart ache, and finally, the tears that had been threatening to spill ever since the door shut behind Hisashi-san, did so. He tried to keep his sobbing to a minimum.

He was just so tired. He didn’t know what to do. Being a parent was hard enough, but doing it alone was too much. He was only hurting Sora time and time again. Sora had to deal with his mom leaving because Kouki wasn’t enough for her, and now he had to suffer as Kouki stumbled through life—sometimes literally.

His head felt heavy and he could feel his nose running, but he continued to cry, letting it all out. He curled in on Sora, clutching him to his chest. Sora was the only thing that was giving his life a purpose right now. And he wasn’t even able to protect him.

He was a bad father. A horrible father.

He wished someone could tell him exactly what he should be doing right now.

He’d even settle for someone just holding his hand. He needed someone to hold him close and tell him everything was going to be alright. And he felt ungrateful, because Nii-san and Yoko-chan were doing more than anyone else would ever have the patience to do, and Kuroko-san was working hard to help him as well, and Takao always knew when he was down and tried to make him laugh, and Sora worked so hard to make sure Kouki wasn’t worried about him.

So he shouldn’t want more. But he did. He wanted to fill the hole he felt in the middle of his chest—the one his wife had left him with.

He was so lonely.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'M SO SO HAPPY YOU GUYS LIKED THE FIRST CHAPTER. 
> 
> I hope this chapter is also good.
> 
> Also, I know that Akashi isn't in this chapter very much, either, but FEAR NOT, MY FRIENDS. He will make a real appearance in the next chapter. I SWEAR. Please sit tight until then!!!! 
> 
> Thank you again for reading, I appreciate it a lot! Don't hesitate to leave me feedback, either! Any opportunity to improve my writing is a good opportunity!


	3. Can't Tell if Things Are Getting Worse or Better

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> **The Characters of Baby Bunny Hops Introduce This Chapter:**  
> 
> "Shit!" Furihata yelled as he grappled for the ledge of the wall. He didn't even make it over, this time. "Fuuuck," he whined as a hoisted himself up and over the wall. His arms felt like spaghetti, and he was wheezing.
> 
> "I think your father is beautiful," Akashi said to Sora, who was grimacing at the display his father was making. 
> 
> "Really? He looks kinda sweaty to me."
> 
> "I know, right?" Akashi all but sighed. 
> 
> Sora was kind of grossed out.

“It’s so crowded!” Sora exclaimed in wonderment. He stood stiffly with one of his arms being squeezed in Kouki’s hand, and the other hand clutching the pole. “Do you do this everyday?”

Kouki huffed out an exasperated breath, blowing his bangs out of his eyes for a moment before they fell back into place. “Yeah. It’s not as fun when you do it everyday.”

Sora looked especially cute today—Kouki had dressed him up in his best pair of jeans and a striped t-shirt, with a button up over it. His hair was well combed, and his chubby cheeks were rosy. All in all, Kouki wanted to plant a million kisses over that precious face, but had to restrain himself. He had to stay strong.

He was hoping that if Kuroko-san saw Sora being so cute, he wouldn’t be too against having a six-year-old in the office for a day. As long as he wasn’t too much trouble. Speaking of trouble…

“Sora, we have to go over some rules, okay?” Kouki said, looking down at him.

Sora nodded, serious. “Yes, sir!”

Kouki rolled his eyes, but couldn’t help smiling. So dramatic, this kid. “You can’t wander off, alright? You have to stay by my desk the whole time. If you need to use the washroom, then let me know and I’ll take you? Don’t bother anyone else, either.”

“I can’t talk to Takao ‘Ji-chan?” Sora asked, brows furrowed. “But he loves me!”

“Takao ‘Ji-chan will come and talk to you, but if he’s working you have to let him work, okay?”

Sora sighed. “Fine. I’ll just do my colouring.”

Kouki was glad he had Sora pack a backpack of activities. He hadn’t realized how much Sora wanted to interact with everyone.

Finally, their stop came, and Sora stood stiffly as the train came to a halt, trying not to fall over.

“This is ours,” Kouki was about to lead Sora off the train, when he spotted red hair, again.

Sora was tugging Kouki’s arm towards the door, but Kouki turned around and led him out through a door a little farther down the train car.

Once they were onto the platform, and safely away from any potentially lethal redheads, Sora poked at Kouki’s side. “Hey, ‘Tou-chan, why didn’t you use the door that was _right there_! We were right next to it!”

Kouki nervously patted Sora’s head, scanning the area _just one more time_ , to make doubly sure that no one was about to pop out at them. “No reason. Just felt like it.”

“ _’Tou-chan_ ,” Sora grumbled, swatting Kouki’s hand away. “That’s not a reason.”

“You’re right. Let’s go. Take my hand, c’mon,” Kouki began walking out of the station, and grasped onto Sora’s smaller hand. “It’s not far from here. See if you can find it. It’s a biiiig building that says ‘Akashi Group’ on it. Do you see the kanji for ‘group’ anywhere?”

Sora’s face scrunched up as he surveyed each building they came across, his neck bent upwards at a potentially painful angle. “I don’t know!”

“You know it, I remember I saw it in your homework a few days ago!” Kouki encouraged.

Sora’s face scrunched harder, and his legs were walking faster than usual as he tried to keep up with the quick pace of the people around him. “Hmm… ‘Tou-chan, I really don—oh! Oh ‘Tou-chan! Is that one it? Is it?” he pointed to the familiar gold insignia, and the words ‘Akashi Group’ written in a powerful typeface.

“You found it!” Kouki cheered, and squeezed his hand in congratulations.

“What’s an Akashi Group?” Sora asked.

Kouki chuckled a little. “The group is a bunch of rich people who help run the business. And Akashi is the guy who owns the whole entire company.”

Sora’s eyes widened. “He must be super rich!”

Kouki shrugged. “Probably.”

“Whoa…”

“Mhm.”

They were quiet for the rest of the walk. Kouki suspected Sora was just a little overwhelmed at the sheer amount of people and towering buildings. Kouki had never really brought Sora into this part of Tokyo, after all.

But he seemed to by enjoying it, and most importantly, he didn’t seem to be thinking about last night’s altercation. He was hoping he wouldn’t run into Hisashi-san at work, today. He had never even seen her before, but once they had been introduced, they seemed to keep on crossing paths.

It was funny how that worked. Like when you learn a new word and suddenly you start seeing it everywhere.

This could also be applied to the red haired guy who followed him into the building yesterday. He’d never seen him before Wednesday this week, but once he did, the red haired guy was suddenly everywhere.

It was a little unnerving. Maybe it was a fate type of thing. Perhaps they were destined to meet, and have an epic battle in which Kouki would die a quick, but honourable death. Though those things really didn’t happen anymore. Unless the guy really was of the violent sort. In that case, he wouldn’t mind passing on the honourable part of his death, as long as it was quick.

“Ah, we’re here Sora!” Kouki paused in front of the revolving doors, forcing people in business attire to move past him, like a rock standing solid in a river. “Okay, remember the rules alright? And don’t be very noisy, people are trying to get their work done.”

“Okaaay, ‘Tou-chan!” Sora groaned. “Let’s go, let’s go, let’s go! I wanna go through the circle-y door!”

“Okay, okay!” Kouki laughed. He liked that Sora was so excited. It made him excited about work too. “Don’t let go of my hand okay?  Go in, in front of me.”

Sora stood ready at the revolving door, as if he was getting ready to charge it.

“Okay, ready,” Kouki put one of his hands on Sora’s shoulder, “set… go!” he pushed the both of them into an opening. “Push the door! Push, push, push!”

“I’m pushing! It’s heavy!” Sora cried, but he sounded exhilarated. Both Kouki and Sora used one hand to push against the door, accelerating their paces to match that of the door’s. Well, Kouki quickened his strides, Sora was almost running.

“And now we’re…” Kouki nudged Sora out once the door opened on the other side. “We’re out! Nice job, So-chan!”

“That was so fun!” Sora said, raising his hand, and Kouki promptly high fived it.

“Now we take the elevator to the ninth floor.”

“I’m gonna push the button!” Sora yelled, and off he went running through the lobby.

Kouki sighed. “Sora,” he called after him, hurrying his steps, “Don’t run!”

Sora was standing by the elevator button, pressing the up arrow erratically.

“Oi, Sora! You have to listen,” Kouki admonished, taking Sora’s wrist and holding it away from the button. “You can’t run away from me, you’ll get lost.”

Sora scuffed his shoe against the floor, looking down. “Sorry. I got excited.”

Kouki tapped Sora’s head with his knuckles affectionately. “I know you did.”

The ride up to the ninth floor was spent with Sora making silly faces in the elevator mirrors. When the door opened, Sora almost ran out, but caught himself at the last moment with a sheepish expression.

Kouki nodded in approval. He was learning.

Before they headed to Kouki’s desk, Kouki stopped by Kuroko-san’s office to notify him of the extra person in the marketing department today, but he noticed through the tiny window in the door that Kuroko was already speaking to someone. He’d let him know when Kuroko-san was free, then.

As Kouki led Sora to his desk, he pointed out small things of interest, such as the washroom, the small kitchenette, the break room, Takao’s desk, and finally, his own desk.

“That’s me!” Sora was very excited to see his own picture on Kouki’s desk, and would barely stand still long enough for Kouki to wrestle his jacket off, so that he could hang it up alongside Kouki’s own.

Pulling up a chair for Sora, he cleared some desk space for Sora to spread out all of his colouring books and crayons. “Okay, you sit here, I need to make a few calls, alright? So make sure to stay quiet.”

“’Kay!” Sora agreed, already starting on a picture of a duck. He was colouring it a very vibrant shade of purple, and his feet kicked happily as they dangled from the chair.

It warmed Kouki’s heart to see him so content, and for the first time in a while, he started to work with a smile on his face. Even one of the clients noted that Kouki sounded especially chipper that morning.

A little bit before lunch time, Takao made his appearance, and the both of them had an overly dramatic reunion.

“Takao ‘Ji-chan!” Sora said loudly, and Kouki shushed him as Takao came running to scoop Sora into his arms for a tight hug. “ _Takao ‘Ji-chan, you’re killing me_!” he squeaked.

“But I’m so excited to see you!” Takao pouted. “I wanna hug you _really_ tightly!”

Sora sighed, but wrapped his arms around Takao’s neck. “Okay, but only for a little bit!”

After that was done, Takao snuck a piece of chocolate to Sora and a pile of folders onto Kouki’s desk.

“Hey!” Kouki called, rifling through the files. “What’s this?”

Takao grinned, a little guilty. “Listen, listen. Kou-chan. We’re friends. I’ve got your back, and you’ve got mine.”

“Takao…” Kouki said in his best Dad Voice, warning him to get to the point, even though he had an unhappy inkling to exactly what those files were for.

“Okay, so I have two projects that I’m already working on—I’m one of the leads, for both, okay?” Takao said in a hurry, wearing a smile that was a sheepish attempt at charming. “But I got assigned two more tasks—except these are just reviewing ongoing projects and then making small adjustments with the numbers. Y’know, trivial, time consuming stuff we give interns?”

“And I’m an intern?” Kouki asked, with only a hint of teasing, and Takao winced.

“No! _No_ , but,” Takao turned up the charm by using his index and middle finger to whip out a gift card for the coffee place he knew Kouki liked, “this is yours if you do this for me. There’s like 15,000 yen still on that.”

Sora reached up and snagged the card, inspecting it over. “It’s shiny, ‘Tou-chan,” he reported, serious.

Kouki rolled his eyes and dumped the files onto a pile of his own work. “Fine.”

Takao jumped onto him, squishing Kouki into the chokehold he called a hug. “You’re the best!”

Kouki couldn’t help but laugh—Takao was infectious like that, even when he was dumping tasks onto other people. “Are you going to lunch soon?”

Takao shook his head. “I wasn’t kidding when I said that I was busy. Plus, Shin-chan doesn’t take his lunch for another hour, so I’m gonna wait till then.”

So Takao was really serious about Midorima-san. Huh.

Takao waved enthusiastically on his way back to his desk and Sora climbed back into his chair. He sat quietly for a few minutes, fiddling with the gift card before he announced that he was hungry.

Lunch time it was, then. A little earlier than usual, but what was the harm?

When Kouki reached the cafeteria, he remembered why he took his lunch break later, on most days.

It was packed. This was rush hour, and it felt like every Akashi Group employee had decided to stuff themselves into the usually spacious eating area.

Kouki held onto Sora’s hand tightly. He should have packed lunch from home. For now, though, he would focus on getting through the crowd and food into their bellies. “Don’t let go of my hand, Sora,” Kouki warned absently as he tried to see over everyone’s heads. He wanted some omurice.

“’Tou-chan I gotta pee!” Sora cried in response, and Kouki groaned under his breath. Of course he did.

“Hold it, let’s just get food first, since we’re here.”

Sora let out a distressed, but accepting loud huff of breath and let Kouki drag him through the throng of people to the line for the omurice. Hm. He could get some tempura and rice for Sora. Sora liked tempura. He let go of Sora’s hand for a second, so that he could reach into his pocket for his wallet.

And just then, a wave of people drifted through the cafeteria, jostling anyone and anything that was not firmly standing in place or screwed into the flooring. Kouki tripped a little, but managed to right himself after bumping into another person. Where had that even come from? He checked the large clock that hung above the door. Ah. It was the 12:30 pm. The next lunch wave.

Usually, he was part of the 1:30 pm lunch wave, and that wave was much tamer and gentler, if he had to describe it. The 11:00 am wave was the one filled with those that had missed breakfast, and was only meant for the fiercest of contenders. Even when Kouki was starving, he usually held off until 12:00 pm, because he did not like fighting other people for his food. The 12:30 wave was more of a silent but deadly sort of affair.

“Hey, Sora, you oka—” Kouki paused. Glancing downwards. He saw his feet. “Sora?” He turned around, bumping into another person. He apologized out of habit, but his eyes kept scanning the ground. “Sora!”

He was not there.

Leaving the line immediately, he stumbled past people carrying trays, trying to catch a glimpse of Sora’s brown head of hair. It should’ve been easy. He was significantly smaller than everyone else in this whole building. So how could he not find him?

“Hey,” someone said, as Kouki collided into his stomach. “Watch it.”

It was the tall engineer that Kuroko had tried to introduce to him the other day—the one with the purple hair. “I-I’m sorry,” he replied in a hurry, bowing twice before weaving past him and moving into a corner. He pulled up a chair and climbed onto it, looking over the whole cafeteria. “ _Sora_?” he called.

A few people gave him curious glances, but the fact he was most concerned about at the moment was that Sora was no where to be seen.

He could feel his heart dropping into his stomach, and his palms grew sweaty as his hands were filled with the slightest tremors. He stepped off the chair and left the cafeteria. Maybe he had gone into the lobby.

“Sora?” he tried again, but no one replied.

Feeling light headed, he sat down on a ledge and put his head in his hands for a moment. He took deep breaths, and tried to exhale slowly. He couldn’t find Sora if he became an emotional mess.

What if someone had stolen him? He had assumed that most people at the Akashi Group were kind, or at least, operated within the law. But there were always one or two bad apples in the barrel.

What kind of father lost his son at his own workplace? It was stupid, so stupid. He should never have let go of his hand. He just let go for a second. How was a second enough time to completely misplace his child?

Okay—no. He sat up straight, bunching his hands into fists. It would not be helpful to Sora to beat himself up about this. Sora was probably fine. Just a little lost. Everyone got lost once in a while.

More importantly, he would find him. He definitely would.

Steeling his resolve, he stood back up and decided to do one more comb over of the cafeteria, just in case Sora was hiding under a table or something.

 

-x-x-x-

 

He wasn’t going to lie; Kouki was slowly unraveling. To clarify, he was on the verge of tears.

He had called up Takao, and the two of them took one floor each, moving up the building, trying to find the boy. Unfortunately for them, there were twenty floors. Not the tallest structure in Tokyo’s business district, but what it lacked in height, it made up for in width and length. Each floor was huge. Uncomfortably huge.

Kouki didn’t know how much time had passed. He was on the topmost floor now—number twenty. And his calls for Sora were becoming more and more shaded by the despondent tone he didn’t have the energy to hide anymore.

Kouki turned a corner, and was greeted by tall mahogany doors. Ah. The CEO’s office. The hallway was empty.

Retracing his steps back into the main hallway, Kouki fell back against the wall and slid down until he was sitting.

As if things hadn’t already been going wrong. His son was gone. The one light of his life was gone. Who knew where he was now. He’d have to call the police. He’d have to notify his brother.

He… he… he had to…

Kouki collapsed into himself, tears starting to flow. He kept the whimpers to a minimum, but they were certainly there. At least the floor was basically empty.

Everything from the past few days had built up inside of him, and while he did have a good cry last night, it seemed like his heart was trying to wring out a few more tears. How could he have been this irresponsible?

 _Oh no_ , he thought suddenly. _What if Sora left him and ran away? Maybe he didn’t like being forced to deal with mean ladies, and decided to try his luck elsewhere. The streets were a horrible place for a six-year-ol--_

“Is that so?”

While the voice was faint, it was clear enough to make the words out and pierce the heavy blanket of moroseness that had been slowly wrapping around Kouki. “You are quite clever, Furihata-kun.”

“Yup!”

Kouki’s head shot up and he scrambled onto his feet, listening hard. That definitely was Sora. But he couldn’t figure out what direction the voice was coming from.

“Sora?” Kouki called hesitantly.

There was nothing, for a little bit. And then, “’Tou-chan, is that you?”

“Sora!” Kouki yelled, jovial. “Where are you—”

His precious baby boy came into view.

Hand-in-hand with the red headed maybe murderer.

Oh god.

“S-Sora…” Kouki hesitantly approached them, extending a hand. “I’ve been looking everywhere for you.”

Sora was smiling bright enough, which meant that he hadn’t been hurt. “Yup, I had to go pee, ‘Tou-chan! So when all those people came and I couldn’t find you, I went to look for a washroom.”

Kouki exhaled in relief, but then quickly reminded himself that they were in a dangerous situation.

He would have to bargain for Sora, probably. That’s what they did in movies, right? Too bad Kouki was barely able to cover the bills and rent with his paycheque. “Wh-what do you want?” Kouki began, voice gaining strength as he continued. “I’ll give you whatever you want, just give me back my son.” Oh no, what if he asked for his _body_? What if he was pushed to slavery? What if he was made to dance in skimpy outfits in front of wealthy men?

The red headed man furrowed his brows. “I’m sorry?”

Sora decided that now was a good time to let go of the red headed man’s hand and run to Kouki to give him a big hug. Kouki held onto him protectively, squashing Sora’s face against Kouki’s stomach. The man watched the interaction, clearly taking curious sort of interest in it.

Were they going to have the Battle to the Death right there? What else could that gaze mean? At first glance it may seem politely inquisitive, but if you looked hard enough, the man could also look very calculating! And in a bad way! Kouki’s arms tightened around Sora.

“’Tou-chan, this is Sei-chan, he’s my new best friend! Me, him, and Mitsu-chan are gonna play all the time now!” Sora introduced, though the introduction was a bit muffled.

“Sei… chan?” Kouki repeated, confused. He gawked at the man.

The red headed man raised a brow and appraised Kouki for a second. He then decidedly loosened his stance and put one of his hands in the pocket of his suit’s trousers, an amused smile at his lips. “Seijuurou.”

“Isn’t that your given na—”

“Seijuurou,” Seijuurou repeated, calm, but with a sense of finality in his voice.

Kouki nodded. Somehow, he didn’t feel as threatened before, but he couldn’t tell whether this was a tactic of lulling his victims into a false sense of security. “Th-thank you for finding my son.”

“Not a problem. Furihata-kun is a very interesting boy.”

He could feel Sora smiling to himself, pleased.

“A-and… you don’t want to hurt us?” Kouki forced out, though his cheeks were burning as he said so. He sounded silly and juvenile, but he wanted this mess to be cleared up right then and there.

Seijuurou shook his head. “Why would I?”

“B-because I… um… on the train… I fell… a few t-times…” Kouki tried to explain, but ended up trailing into a mumble. And while it took a few moments of Seijuurou being confused, his eyes slowly widened in recognition.

“Ah, that was you. I see. Well, while I did not appreciate it, I wouldn’t hurt a person over that,” Seijuurou reassured, using his free hand to wave away the thought. “Though I am curious why little Furihata-kun is here, at work.”

Sora stiffened, then broke free from Kouki’s grip to make an impassioned speech. “A bad lady came to our house yesterday and was super mean! And ‘Tou-chan kicked her out but I cried a lot! So he said I could skip school and stay with ‘Tou-chan aaaall day!”

Seijuurou nodded in understanding. “I see. Well, I’m glad you’re with your father again. You should go eat lunch.”

Sora gasped. “You’re right! I forgot I was hungry!”

Kouki sighed. This boy was a handful. “Um, sorry again for all the trouble, Seijuurou.”

Seijuurou shook his head. “It wasn’t any trouble. Furihata-kun is a fantastic person to talk with.”

Kouki couldn’t help but chuckle with fondness. With the amount of chattering Sora did, any interaction with him was less like a conversation and more like a monologue. Kouki bowed quickly as Seijuurou walked past them and turned the corner.

As soon as Seijuurou was gone, Kouki got down onto his knees and enveloped Sora into a hug, feeling immense amounts of relief seeping into his bones.

“What’s wrong, ‘Tou-chan?” Sora asked, squeezing back just as hard, even if he was a little clueless as to why he was getting the hug in the first place.

Kouki sighed. “Nothing, So-chan,” he pulled back and fixed Sora with a stern look. “What have I told you about wandering off?”

Sora shrunk back, letting out a few guilty _ha-ha_ ’s, “Uh… not to?”

Kouki gently pinched Sora’s cheek. “Yes. Just stay where you are, and then I’ll find you.” He let go, resting his forehead against Sora’s hair. “Always. So don’t run off like that again. Okay? You really frightened me.”

“Sorry, ‘Tou-chan,” Sora apologized, and he started to sniffle. “A-Are you mad?”

He flashed Sora a tired smile. “Nah, you’re too cute for me to be mad.”

Sora exhaled deeply, wiping his eyes of any wetness with the back of his hand. “Whew. Okay.”

Kouki stood up and brushed off the knees of his pants. When he straightened, he gave Sora’s forehead a little flick. “Don’t think about pulling that sort of stunt again, though.”

Sora gave him a salute. “Yes, sir!”

“I have to tell Takao ‘Ji-chan you’re alright. He was worried about you too. Make sure to apologize well when you see him, okay?”

Sora deflated a little. “Yeah… okay.”

Taking Sora’s hand, Kouki began walking down the hall towards the elevators while Sora fell into a steady chatter about the experiences he had accumulated in the span of the two hours that he had been gone, complete with vivid sound effects and hand motions. Apparently it was a very colourful experience.

As he talked, Kouki looked over his shoulder, down the hallway. He still didn’t know what Seijuurou did at the company, or if he worked here at all. And why was he on the top floor? Was he the CEO’s secretary?

Sure, he claimed to have no ill will towards Kouki, and he had been very nice to Sora, but he was still a mysterious character. And against his will, Kouki was interested. He wanted to know who this Not Murderer was, and why he only went by one name.

But this interest had to be put on the backburner for the foreseeable future, because he had more pressing matters to attend to.

“Sora, _please_ _don’t_ hit the elevator button like that.”

 

-x-x-x-

 

After Sora had retold Takao his exciting adventure over lunch for the second time, the three of them headed back upstairs to finish up the afternoon’s work.

Kouki had apologized to Takao many times—looking for Sora had cut into his lunch time as well, and Takao’s lunch time was especially important because that was the only time he really got to see Midorima-san. Plus, there were the projects he had deadlines for. He promised to buy Takao dinner sometime to make it up to him, and Takao very willingly accepted, as he naturally would. Sora said that he would draw a picture to say sorry.

He spent an hour working diligently, knocking a good chunk of his workload out of the way, until he heard the door to Kuroko-san’s office click open, then shut. That meant he was finally free.

It was almost the end of the day, so Kouki really had to let Kuroko-san know that Sora had been here.

He straightened up Sora’s outfit, and wiped away some stray cookie crumbs from his snack that had stuck to his cheeks rather persistently. When he was ready, he took Sora’s hand.

Kouki squatted down so that he was at eye-level with Sora. “So-chan, we’re going to go talk to my boss, okay? Be very good. Can you promise me that you’ll be good?” he asked, in his most serious voice.

“Yeah, ‘Tou-chan,” Sora said back, just as seriously.

Kouki ruffled his hair, pleased, then remembered he had to make a good impression, so he smoothed it down in a hurry. “Okay. Let’s go.”

The walk to his office was punctuated with Sora’s feet marching valiantly, his face scrunched up into his Going Into Battle look.

Once they reached the door, Kouki told Sora to exhale. “Relax. Ready?”

Sora nodded. Thankfully, he got rid of his previous expression.

Kouki knocked on the door.

“Come in,” said Kuroko-san from inside.

Kouki opened the door to see Kuroko-san sitting at his desk, with his hand against his phone’s keypad. “Ah, Furihata-san. One moment please. Have a seat.”

“Furihata-san?” came a voice from the phone’s speaker.

Kuroko-san’s eyes followed Sora as he stepped into the room and attempted to climb the chair that was too big for him. Kouki hoisted him up, then took a seat himself. “Furihata-san is one of my employees. He’s brought along a friend, I see.”

“He’s my ‘Tou-chan!” Sora explained, with a bright grin.

“Sora,” Kouki quietly scolded. “Kuroko-san is on the phone. You have to stay quiet.”

“Oh. Sorry.”

Kuroko-san’s lips pulled upwards into a small smile. “Sorry, Akashi-san, I’m going to have to call you back later.”

There was some movement on the other end of the line, and then, “Don’t. I’ll come down at the end of the day and we can finish up the details then.”

Kuroko-san looked taken aback for a second, “Is that so? If you’re sure, then it’s fine, I suppose. Goodbye, Akashi-san.”

“Bye.”

And then the phone clicked off.

“I’m sorry if we interrupted your call,” Kouki quickly apologized.

Kuroko-san shook his head. “I was going to end the call soon anyway, it’s fine. I’m surprised he’s coming down to the Marketing Department, however. That’s certainly different.”

“Maybe we’ll actually get to see what he looks like now,” Kouki said, a little excited at the prospect.

“Perhaps,” Kuroko-san agreed, then turned his attentions towards Sora. “And who might you be?”

Sora folded his hands in his lap and sat up straighter at the sudden acknowledgement. “I’m Furihata Sora! Nice to meet you!” He did a deep bow.

“Nice to meet you,” Kuroko-san replied, lightly inclining his head. “I’m Kuroko Tetsuya. I work with your papa.” Sora sat back up and grinned.

“Um, I wanted to talk to you about him being here. I tried to come earlier but you seemed to be busy,” Kouki explained, nervous. He knew Kuroko-san would never scold him about something like this, but he did feel he was overstepping boundaries a little bit.

Kuroko-san sighed and leaned back in his chair, picking up a pen to fiddle with. “Akashi-san is planning on merging another company with ours, so the whole process has been time consuming.”

“I-I see. I won’t take up more of your time then. I just wanted you to know that I brought my son in, because he wasn’t comfortable… being apart from me today,” Kouki said.

“That’s fine,” Kuroko-san said. “Also, Furihata-san, how was the meeting with Hisashi-san yesterday?”

At the mention of Hisashi-san’s name, Sora stiffened, and his expression darkened. Kouki could see his little hands balling up into fists. Kouki leaned forward and covered his mouth from Sora’s view with his hand to whisper, “She’s kind of the reason Sora didn’t want to be alone today.”

Kuroko-san’s eyebrows furrowed. “That isn’t good.”

Kouki sat back, shaking his head.

“What will you do now?”

Kouki shrugged. “I’m going to have to go myself.”

“Will you be okay? I would go with you, if you wanted, but the merger is taking up all of my free time as well,” Kuroko-san said, eyes regretful.

Kouki smiled. He was truly thankful for how much time and thought he was willing to invest into Kouki’s personal problems. Kuroko-san was a great boss. His heart filled up with appreciation. “I’ll be okay, thank you so much, Kuroko-san. You’ve done a lot for me.”

Kuroko-san still looked concerned, but he mustered up another small smile. “It’s alright, Furihata-san. I’ll let you know if I find anyone else. I apologize for Hisashi-san. If you have the time, please tell me about it later.”

Kouki stood up, and helped Sora out of his chair. He did a quick bow, and got Sora to do one too. “I will. We’ll go now. Thank you again.”

“Goodbye.”

“Bye Kuro-chan!” Sora said cheerfully, waving over his shoulder.

“Sora! You can’t call Kuroko-san that!” Kouki was scandalized.

For the first time in the years that he had worked under Kuroko-san, he heard him chuckle quietly. Kouki openly stared. “It’s alright. Goodbye, Sora-san.”

Sora opened the door and pulled Kouki outside. If not for him, he would have still been stood there, staring. It wasn’t every day that you heard Kuroko Tetsuya, the king of the poker face, laugh.

“C’mon ‘Tou-chan, I gotta finish my sorry card for Takao ‘Ji-chan!” Sora tugged on his hand insistently.

It snapped Kouki out of his reverie. “Ah, yes, sorry. Let’s go back. It’s almost time to go home.”

“Then I get to have a sleepover with Mitsu-chan! Yay!”

Oh, he had forgotten about that. His tried to remember exactly what he had in the fridge, he hoped he had enough food at home to feed two first graders. They’d have to do to the store on the way back, just in case.

In the next hour and a half, he managed to finish off Takao’s work as well as most of his own, and Sora managed to draw fifteen pictures and play three word puzzles, two of them given up on and left incomplete.

As they got ready to leave promptly at five p.m., Takao came to say goodbye, and fifteen minutes were spent with Sora telling Takao about each detail in all of his pictures. And Takao, the wonderful fool, was listening with rapt attention the whole time. By the time they were done talking, the whole office was emptied save for the three of them.

“People sure do clear out fast,” Takao noted, glancing around.

Kouki adjusted Sora’s coat zipper. “It’s Friday evening, everyone wants to get out as soon as possible.”

“Not me!” Sora exclaimed. “I love it here!”

Kouki made an ‘ick’ face at Sora’s words and Takao laughed heartily as he grabbed Sora’s hand and started walking in the direction of the elevator.

“You’re the only one who probably thinks that, So-chan,” Takao said affectionately, and Sora disagreed, saying that Mitsu-chan would probably love this place too.

Sora skipped up to the elevator and pressed on the button a few hundred times. “Didja know that Mitsu-chan is coming over for a sleepover today? We’re gonna have lotsa fun and watch movies and play hide-and-seek! And—”

“Sora don’t press on the button like that,” Kouki sighed, but Sora continued to talk even as Kouki stepped forward and gently removed his hand from the button.

Suddenly, the door opened with a _ding!_ and Kouki began to walk inside when his eyes landed on the person already occupying the elevator.

And he shouted. Not too loud, but a definite _AAH_ of surprise that made him blush when Takao snickered.

“SEI-CHAN!” Sora yelled, excited, and latched himself onto Seijuurou’s legs the moment he exited out of the elevator.

Seijuurou was taken aback at the sudden affection, but somehow he did not seem all that surprised at seeing them. He didn’t appear to know what to do with his hands, however; he just left them hovering in the air. “Furihata-kun. And Furihata-san. Hello.”

Takao peered at him from over Kouki’s shoulder. “Hello. Who are you?”

“He wasn’t even talking to you, idiot,” Kouki mumbled at him, and shoved his weight off of his back before forcing a smile at Seijuurou. “Hi. Takao, this is Seijuurou, and Seijuurou, this is Takao. Seijuurou is the person who found Sora.”

“Seijuurou?” Takao seemed to mull over the name for a moment. “Hey wait, isn’t that the name of the—”

“Akashi-san, hello,” Kuroko-san’s voice cut in.

Seijuurou winced, and Kouki stared at him in shock.

“ _Kuroko_ ,” he greeted, but it sounded more like a threat.

“Akashi-san?” Kouki all but gasped, and his hands found their way to his face. “Holy shit. Oh my god. I-I’ve been calling you Seijuurou—shit, you’re the CEO, I shouldn’t be swearing, oh god, Sora get off of him—,” he grabbed Sora by the shoulders and pulled him back against Kouki, and Kouki’s forehead brushed the top of Sora’s head when he bowed deeply, “I am so, so sorry you had to deal with my son, I’m sorry for the familiarity I addressed you with, I apologize for getting in your way, I am so sorry—”

“Furihata-san, please,” Akashi-san seemed uncomfortable. “Please stand up straight, none of this was your fault,” Kouki felt Akashi-san’s hand push him up till he was upright again. “See, there you go. You were scaring Furihata-kun.”

Sora looked more confused than scared. “Why’re you saying sorry to Sei-chan, ‘Tou-chan?”

Kouki stared at Sora in horror for a moment. “Sora! You can’t call him S… S- _Sei-chan_ , he’s my _boss_!”

“But I thought Kuro-chan was your boss.”

“They’re both my bosses!”

“You can’t have two bosses!”

“This is very fun to watch,” Kouki heard Takao say to Kuroko-san. He glanced up in time to see Kuroko-san nod in amusement.

Kouki shook his head, moving past the minor disagreement with his son. “A-anyways, we’ll leave you alone now, c’mon Takao, we gotta go.”

The elevator had long shut and gone elsewhere by now, so he pressed the downwards button a few times and awkwardly stood there with his back to Seijuu—Akashi-san, Kuroko-san, and Takao.

“Hello, Kuroko-san,” he heard a familiar voice speak, and Kouki’s blood froze. Of course _she_ had to show up. _Of course_.

He felt Sora’s body become rigid under his hand, and Kouki was no way in hell standing in an elevator with Hisashi-san for nine whole floors. So when the elevator came back and opened the door, and Hisashi-san stepped past them to walk inside, Kouki stayed firmly put.

That was, until, Sora broke free from Kouki’s grip and stood right in front of the elevator. “You suck, bad lady!” he yelled just as the door shut, and Kouki blessedly did not have the chance to catch her reaction to that.

“Sora,” Kouki half-heartedly scolded. He was just drained, at this point. He couldn’t even bother to scold Sora properly.

There was an awkward pause, and Kouki still did not turn around. He didn’t even want to _think_ about turning around.

“Was that the bad lady that made you cry, Furihata-kun?” Akashi-san gently asked, and Kouki chanced a peek over his shoulder to see Akashi-san squatting next to Sora.

Sora sniffled a little bit. “Y-yeah. She said ‘Kaa-chan’s never gonna come back, and she didn’t wanna be my friend.”

The fact that the notorious CEO of the company he worked for was squatting next to his child did not register with as much priority than the fact that his precious son was feeling upset over Hisashi-san again. He mirrored Akashi-san’s position and rubbed circles into Sora’s back. “But she’s a bad lady, so you shouldn’t listen to what she says,” he comforted.

“So, ‘Kaa-chan’s gonna come back?” Sora asked, voice cracking as tears threatened to spill from his eyes.

Kouki was left silenced for a moment—he didn’t know what to say. All he felt was a sharp stab in his heart.

“Maybe she will, Furihata-kun,” Akashi-san replied instead, in that same hushed tone. “But maybe she won’t. You never know what will happen. But for now, you’re going to have a sleepover with your best friend tonight, right? What was his name again?”

“M-Mitsu-chan,” Sora mumbled, and his bottom lip stopped trembling. “He’s my favouritest friend.”

Akashi-san smiled at that. “You don’t want your most favourite friend to see you sad, right? Don’t cry.”

“O-okay, Sei-chan.”

And true to his word, Sora’s tears did clear up, though he did move to cling to Kouki’s chest in a tight hug.

“Thank you,” Kouki whispered, eternally thankful. That had been the best response that anyone could have given in that situation. He’d been struck speechless with hurt, as he was prone to being whenever his ex was mentioned. Akashi-san had handled it well.

“Akashi-san,” Kuroko-san suddenly said, as if something had just occurred to him. “Would you mind pretending to be Furihata-kun’s father a week or so from today?”

Akashi-san blinked at Kuroko-san for a moment, then stood up, crossing his arms. “Excuse me?”

Kouki stood up in a hurry as well, almost tipping backwards when Sora refused to let go. He wrapped his arm under Sora then used his other to shake it at Kuroko-san. “Nononono, Kuroko-san, no—”

Kuroko-san paid him no mind. Even Takao looked interested in this proposition. “Furihata-san needs someone to go with him to one of Sora’s school events, because if he goes alone, he will be scorned and Furihata-san thinks that will make Sora’s experience at school unpleasant.”

“Kuroko-saaaan,” Kouki moaned, thoroughly embarrassed.

Kuroko-san plowed on. “He’s been looking for someone to go with him, and that woman over there was a candidate until she was exceptionally rude and negligent towards Sora, which has obviously caused him distress. He has no one to go with him now, and he has many other issues that he has to deal with as well.”

Takao whistled low under his breath.

“Now you’re just being mean,” Kouki muttered, upset with the impromptu exposé. “Please, Akashi-san, don’t listen to Kuroko-sa—”

“I’d love to,” Seijuurou said.

“What,” both Kouki and Takao deadpanned.

Kouki remained silent while Takao dissolved into peals of laughter. “Holy shit this is just keeps on getting more and more exciting!”

Just then, the elevator opened, and a couple holding hands walked into the office, giggling. They stopped abruptly when they saw the gathering right in front of the door, and awkwardly inched their way around them, before disappearing deeper into the office.

Kouki took that as his cue to leave. “We’re going, Takao,” Kouki stated, and grabbed his wrist to pull him into the elevator before it shut.

“Goodbye,” the both of them bowed before the elevator shut, but just before it did, Takao raised his head and squinted at Akashi-san.

“Hey, Kou-chan, isn’t that the guy who you said wanted to murder you?” Takao asked, curious.

“Yes,” Kouki muttered darkly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello!!
> 
> I hope you enjoyed the chapter! Sorry for the late update, I just finished up finals, and have dealt with a very, very stressful December. I hope the holidays have been treating everyone well!! 
> 
> As always, I'd love to hear your feedback on the story, so feel free to let me know your thoughts and insights on how I can improve the story! 
> 
> Thank you for reading!


	4. Things are Definitely Getting Worse

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> **The Characters of Baby Bunny Hops Introduce This Chapter:**  
> 
> The wall was too high. Furihata couldn't jump over it no matter how hard he tired. He stood at the bottom, staring at his shoes. 
> 
> Akashi watched from a distance. He wanted to help, he really did. But he didn't know how. 
> 
> Somehow, Akashi felt defeated too.

“Mitsu-chan!” Sora yelled, jumping up and down in excitement.

“H-hi, So-chan…” Mitsuo replied, shyly smiling at Sora. “Hi So-chan’s ‘tou-chan…”

“Hey, Mitsuo,” Kouki greeted, grinning.

Mitsuo’s mother smoothed her son’s hair down with gentle strokes. “You’ll be okay, Mitsuo? If you want to come home at any time, tell Furihata-san, and he’ll call me right away. I’ll come pick you up.”

Mitsuo pushed his big glasses up the bridge of his nose then tilted his head upwards to give his mother a reassuring smile. “I’ll be okay, Mama. Give Dog a hug for me please.”

Mitsuo’s mom smiled (and wow, was that a real smile? Kouki couldn’t remember her ever smiling. Amazing.) and bent down to press a kiss to Mitsuo’s forehead. “Go put your things inside, I’m going to speak to Furihata-san, then leave. Have a good night.”

“Bye, Mama!” Mitsuo replied, then hefted his bag over his shoulder, running after Sora into his room.

The soft expression on Mitsuo’s mom’s face steeled into her usual unimpressed look almost immediately after her son disappeared into Sora’s room. She let her eyes roam over the visible living room, appraising every inch of it, it seemed. Kouki awkwardly shifted from foot to foot. It felt like an inspection.

“You raise Sora here by yourself…” Mitsuo’s mom wondered aloud to herself. Her eyes fixed onto Kouki’s, and Kouki straightened his posture on instinct. “I have no pity for you, Furihata-san.”

Kouki furrowed his brows. “Um, okay…”

“But Sora is a sweet child. If you require assistance with Sora, you may contact me,” she said, like she was forcing herself to spit the words out.  

Kouki still felt thankful. “Thank you so—”

Mitsuo’s mom crinkled her nose. “No. Stop. I’m not helping you, I’m helping Sora. I don’t want your disgusting displays of… _thankfulness_.”

“O-oh, alright…?” Kouki was confused, but forced a smile either way. “But I still appreciate it.”

Mitsuo’s mom made a disgruntled noise from the back of her throat then turned to open the door. She glanced at him over her shoulder. “I’ll be here tomorrow afternoon to pick up Mitsuo. His puffer is in his duffle bag, make sure he takes a puff whenever it seems he’s overexerted himself.”

“I will.”

Mitsuo’s mom gave a curt nod. “I’ll be going then.”

And then she was gone.

Kouki ran a hand through his hair, sighing. That woman was difficult to deal with. But the offer she made pulled a small chuckle out of him. Mitsuo’s mom seemed cold and detached, but she was still a sweet person. Maybe she was just bad at displaying emotions.

Kouki stepped down into the genkan and turned the lock shut. He could hear Sora’s excited chatter, muffled by the bedroom walls. Besides that, he was alone. And it was quiet.

His thoughts automatically went back to what had happened earlier in the day. He thumped his head against the door, leaving it there—he really didn’t want to think about this. But the thoughts persisted, and Kouki relented, squeezing his eyes shut.

Akashi-san, as in, the _CEO_ of the _Akashi_ _Group_ , agreed to go to the Father’s Meet-and-Greet. Now what was he supposed to do?

Kouki didn’t know what he wanted. He still had some of that leftover fear from the whole murder misunderstanding. And, really, could anyone even imagine _Akashi-san_ at an _elementary school_ , surrounded by other, older fathers? The only way Kouki ever survived was by doing his best to blend into the walls, but Akashi-san probably couldn’t blend into a wall to save his life.

Maybe that was a good thing? Maybe Akashi-san could take on all the dads that liked to tease Kouki incessantly about getting a girl pregnant so young—as if they also hadn’t gotten their wives pregnant.

Objectively, yeah, Akashi-san seemed like the perfect person to take to a Father’s Meet-and-Greet. He had a polished appearance and since he was a CEO, he was probably very good at dealing with people.

But Kouki was scared. A little bit scared of Akashi-san, but mostly scared of… being overshadowed.

Ugh. He was pathetic.

But he wasn’t too shy to admit it. Standing next to Akashi-san made him feel as if he was… a curtain or something. Like he melted into the background while Akashi-san took centre stage. He had a commanding presence around him, which was expected of a CEO, but still. _Still_. It didn’t mean that Kouki had to be exposed to that.

Kouki was never meant to stand next to people who shined so brightly. He knew he wasn’t main character material, but he at least wanted his own side story. Like the nice supporting character that everyone loved, and if the author was willing, would give a short story to, after the main story was completed.

But if he was near Akashi-san, that would never happen. He’d be the side character everyone forgot and found exceptionally boring. His own son would probably prefer someone exciting and shiny like Akashi-san to him. Sora already was the complete polar opposite of his personality. They barely shared any similarities in the looks department, too. If it wasn’t for the hair, he would have assumed that there wasn’t even _one_ of his own genes within Sora’s DNA.  

It didn’t mean that he wouldn’t have loved him, of course. Even if Sora _wasn’t_ his, Kouki would still pour all of his love and affection into the boy. How could he not? He didn’t know if it was weird or not, but he knew that his life revolved around Sora almost exclusively. And he liked his life like that.

His forehead was starting to feel numb from pressing it so hard into the wood of the door.

Kouki wasn’t suited for all this deep introspective thinking. His mind went down weird paths. He was acting like a child.

Kouki thumped his forehead against the door again—harder this time, and turned around, hands on his hips. He shook his head at himself. It wasn’t good to think like this. He could deal with the Akashi-san problem later. Right now, he had to get some food into the two boys.

“Sora, Mitsuo! You hungry?”

-x-x-x-

Kouki always enjoyed just listening to the conversations between Sora and his friends. The ones between Sora and Mitsuo were always the most entertaining. They had an interesting dynamic, the two of them. Sora was the rambunctious, energy-filled one who did not think before he spoke (all these were probably traits he had gained from his mother), while Mitsuo was the more subdued counterpart, always offering insight to any situation that Sora brought up. Sora thought that Mitsuo was “the most cleverest”, as he had once stated.

And Mitsuo _was_ especially clever—he read books way past his age range and displayed complex thought processes that sometimes surprised Kouki.

“So-chan, no, no, no,” Mitsuo shook his head vehemently, then took a moment to straighten his big glasses after they fell askew on his face. “If Dog had super powers, he still wouldn’t be able to save the world. He can’t talk! My mom said that the govenent is all messed up and you gotta talk to be able to save the govenent! All they do is talk!”

Sora thumped his juice box against the table in protest. Some juice squirted up the straw and into his face. He took a moment to wipe the juice from his skin before he rebutted, “Super powers lets you talk! And Dog is so smart!”

Mitsuo sighed. “I know he’s smart, he’s _my dog_. Once I asked him to get my favourite book and he did!”

Kouki closed the tap and turned away from the sink, where he had been washing dishes. “What kind of superpowers does Dog have anyway?”

“Dog doesn’t really have superpowers, ‘Tou-chan,” Sora informed Kouki, lightly exasperated, as if this whole conversation was stressing him out. “But if he did, it would be lasers, super strength, and flying, right Mitsu-chan?”

Mitsuo gulped down the rice he had in his mouth. “Yup, and oh! If he could read, then even if he couldn’t talk, he could still write letters!”

Kouki went back to the dishes when Sora gasped and enthusiastically said, “You’re right, So-chan!”

By the time Kouki had finished cleaning up after the two boys, and had eaten dinner himself, Sora and Mitsuo had migrated into the living room and had plonked themselves down on the couch to watch some show where overly beefy guys with weird hairstyles were fighting each other using powers or something.

“Isn’t this too violent, guys?” Kouki asked, leaning over the back of the couch.

“No, So-chan’s ‘tou-chan, it’s teaching us life lessons,” Mitsuo supplied without removing his eyes from the screen.

“Which are?”

“Friendship! Also never give up!” Sora replied, voice raising with excitement as one of the guys began setting up what was supposed to be the final blow against his enemy.

Kouki scrunched his nose, “If you say so. Don’t start fighting each other like that, though. You could get hurt.”

“We’ll be safe,” Mitsuo promised.

He didn’t miss the very obvious side-step around the idea of not fighting at all.  

Kouki hummed in faux-disapproval and made his way to the closet to grab a spare futon to set up in Sora’s room. He spotted Mitsuo’s bag, and remembered the inhaler. “Mitsuo, do you need to take your inhaler?” Kouki called, as he spread out the sheets.

“No, thank you!” Mitsuo called back.

He’d probably need one soon, though, if both him and Sora were planning on having some sort of mystical battle. 

Just as he finished, Kouki’s cell phone rang. Kouki fished it out of the pocket of his slacks—and oh, he hadn’t changed after coming home. He hadn’t even remembered.

The phone continued to trill.

Without checking the call I.D., Kouki quickly picked up. “Hello?”

“ _Kou!_ ”

“Oh, hey Nii-chan,” Kouki smiled.

“ _Wow, don’t sound_ too _excited_ ,” Nii-chan said sarcastically. “ _Anyway, I have to talk to you about something._ ”

Kouki wandered back into his room and fell onto his bed, face first. “’Kay, go.”

There was a pause, like Nii-chan was taking in a deep breath. Then an exhale. Then a little bit of a shuffling sound. And then,

“ _Kohaku he is not a child!_ ” the voice was a little muffled, and there was a bit more shuffling and static before a new voice appeared on the line. “ _Hey Kouki!_ ”

“Yoko-nee-chan!” Kouki grinned. He loved his sister-in-law. She was the force that kept Nii-chan grounded, and didn’t let him worry too much. Nii-chan worried a lot, now. He was like a mother hen.

“ _Okay, so Kohaku has something he needs to tell you but he’s nervous. I’m letting him prepare himself, so let’s talk until he’s done pacing around the living room_ ,” Yoko-nee-chan’s voice was unimpressed, and he could imagine Nii-chan tossing an irritated pout her way.

“Okay. How are you? Thanks for taking Sora to see the kids the other day,” Kouki rolled onto his back. What did Nii-chan have to tell him? If he was nervous, then those nerves would transfer over to Kouki, no matter the distance between them. Nii-chan wasn’t the type to get nervous, really, but ever since he’s had kids, he got high-strung when it came to his family. Cute, but also annoying.

“ _It’s nothing, I had fun. Sora is as cute as always. Aki and Toshi kept asking about you, though_.”

“I miss them too. I’ll come over soon to see them,” Kouki said, sad. He really did miss his nephew and niece.

Yoko-nee-chan huffed. “ _You better. O-oh, okay, looks like he’s ready now. Good luck, Kouki._ ”

“Thanks?”

“ _Kou!_ ”

“You’ve already done this part, Nii-chan,” Kouki reminded him.

Nii-chan ignored him. “ _I have two bad things I need to tell you about._ ”

Oh. Kouki got up to shut the door, then sunk down to the floor. He ran a hand through his hair, readying himself. “O-okay.”

Nii-chan sounded like he was doing some intense deep breathing exercises on the other end of the line. “Nii-cha—”

“ _The Thailand embassy people can’t find Mom and Dad!_ ” Nii-chan blurted out.

“Wha—”

“ _I’ve been talking to them a lot and they, like, either don’t give two shits about the situation to put in some actual effort or they_ have _put in effort and still can’t find our parents_ ,” Nii-chan sounded like he was trying to race through this conversation.

“B-but Nii-ch—”

Nii-chan groaned, and Kouki could imagine his stressed expression—hair a mess, eyebrows deeply furrowed, stare heavy. “That’s not all Kou, I’m so sorry. Listen. I’ve been meaning to tell you this for two weeks b-but I was… I… I guess I couldn’t figure out a way to bring it up.”

Kouki didn’t say anything this time. He just held his breath, waiting.

“ _Y’know how my company was pushing for that Miyagi promotion, and I said I needed time because Toshi was still too young so it would be stressful?_ ”

That was a lie—Kouki knew he hadn’t taken the promotion because that was when Kouki’s wife had recently left him, and Kouki was a mess and Sora was so distraught all the time.

“ _W-well, the company—they… they’re, um, they’re throwing in a house. Like, it’s small, but it’s a house. And the apartment is getting so small, Kou, I-I… I don’t know. Tell me what I should do._ ”

Kouki could feel a lump in his throat. He tried to swallow it down. He could feel his eyes watering. He took a deep breath, trying to make his voice as steady as possible. “T-take it, Nii-chan.”

“ _But, Kou—_ ” Nii-chan sounded like he was pleading with him, for Kouki to tell him to stay. It would be easier that way, for the both of them. Kouki would have his support, and Nii-chan wouldn’t be filled with guilt. 

“No, Nii-chan. Take the promotion. Go to Miyagi. This is important,” Kouki shut him eyes, leaning his head back against the wall. “When are you supposed to be moving?”

“ _… in a month.”_

Kouki _hmm_ -ed and very carefully kept his voice light. “That’s enough time. I can make arrangements for Sora by then. And I can work stuff out with my boss to help with it. Don’t worry about me, Nii-chan. You gotta do this. It’s gonna be good for Aki and Toshi and Yoko-nee-chan as well. Right? You gotta take care of them.”

“ _I have to take care of you too, Kou. Especially now_ ,” Nii-chan’s voice was small, and Kouki felt like his already wavering resolve would crack if he listened to Nii-chan’s voice any longer.

Kouki cleared his throat. “I’m fine. And I’ll be milking all the babysitting I can get out of you before you leave, so get ready for that. I’ll see you on Monday, right?”

“ _Y-yeah…_ ”

“Okay. I have to go check on Sora, he has Mitsuo over. I’ll talk to you later. And I’ll, um, I’ll call the Thailand embassy as well.”

“ _God, this is a mess…_ ”

Kouki’s laugh was watery. “Yeah… but it’s okay. We just have to work hard. I’ll talk to you later. Bye.”

“ _Bye, Kou_.”

Kouki tossed the phone away from him. In the background, he could hear Sora and Mitsuo making explosion sounds and probably thwacking each other with pillows.

He lay down. The carpet felt a little rough against his face.

This was a mess, indeed.

-x-x-x-

Right at the crack of dawn, the doorbell rang.

“Nooo...,” Kouki groaned, covering his ears with his pillow.

It rang again.

Kouki was not a morning person. In fact, he considered it rude to be woken up earlier than noon on a Saturday. But the person at the door was a stubborn bastard. Kouki was suddenly in the mood to teach all stubborn bastards everywhere a lesson. Violently.

He stalked down the hallway and threw the door open. “What.”

A small girl he recognized from his building shoved a poster in his face. “My cat Glitterpaws is missing, please be on the lookout!”

Kouki waved the poster at the girl. “Things like this should be done in the afternoon, when people are _alive_.”

The girl scowled at Kouki, completely contrasting her cutesy look—glossy pigtails and a dress with strawberries on them, covered by a pink jacket. “Listen, you scary uncle, Glitterpaws is probably dying somewhere, so you better wake up. I don’t have time to hear about your problems.”

And then she stomped away.

Kouki slammed the door shut, dumbfounded and very irritated. Who the hell was she to be lecturing _him_ on his habits? He was a fully grown man. He did what he wanted. He hoped Glitterpaws was somewhere far away from the annoying little girl.

The doorbell rang again.

This time, Kouki was ready. He opened the door with a sneer. “Y’know, I’m glad Glitterpaws is probably dying, you little devil chi—”

Kouki felt his life flash by his eyes.

There stood Akashi Seijuurou. CEO of the Akashi Group. At his doorstep.

“Glitterpaws?” he asked.

Who wore suits on a Saturday? Who did this? Why was this happening to him? Why? Was this a dream?

“Why—” Kouki choked out, then remembered his sweatpants and ratty t-shirt. Not to mention his hair. Oh god. “I am so sorry, sir, I-I—I’m not dressed. How may I help you? I’m so sorry I called you a devil child—you’re not. I wou—I would _never_ , sir, you know that. There was a girl, a-and a cat, and she was being mean and—”

Akashi-san lifted his hands in a placating gesture. “Please stop.”

“Okay,” Kouki agreed weakly.

There was a beat of silence, in which Kouki just stared helplessly at his _boss_. Why was he here? Why? Why?

“I would like to come in.”

Kouki practically tripped over his feet as he backpedalled and made space for Akashi-san to come in.

And then he caught glance of the living room.

“Wait here!” Kouki exclaimed, “Please! I’m so sorry, I’m being rude, but my son and his friend were playing a game and—I just—just give me a moment. Please.”

He ran into the living room and started toting out the massive amounts of blankets and sheets that were tossed over every piece of furniture and tossed them into his room.

He was so confused. Try as he might, he could not understand why the CEO was at his door, or how he had even gotten the address. Was Kouki in trouble? Was this how he fired people? Kouki abruptly straightened. Was he firing him because he let his kid run loose in the company building yesterday?

Oh no.

Kouki kicked a few cookie wrappers under the couch and patted down his hair. Okay. The room looked fairly decent. Kouki huffed, then went back to the front door where Akashi-san was standing in his socks, patient.

“May I come in now?” he asked, ever so polite.

“Uh, yes,” Kouki said, and stepped to the side and gestured towards the entrance into the living room. “Sorry for the mess, I wasn’t expecting any guests. And I think my son and his friend hid all the slippers, so I don’t have any to offer you, I’m sorry.”

Akashi-san didn’t answer, too busy going over every square-foot of his living room with his eyes.

“Um, Akashi-san?” Kouki prompted awkwardly. What was he doing?

Akashi-san actually jolted out of his daze. It was so small, he wouldn’t have even noticed it if he wasn’t completely focused on Akashi-san, but it was there. A small flinch. “I like your apartment.”

“Thank you?” he answered, own eyes roaming over the living room to see anything significant. He didn’t see anything. It was small and the walls were littered with photos and drawings, surrounding the T.V. Akashi-san turned around and fixed his gaze on him. Kouki straightened his back. “Thank you,” he said, more firmly.

Akashi-san nodded. “May I sit?”

“Ah!” this time it was Kouki who flinched. He waved Akashi-san towards the couch, probably looking like a chicken sporadically flapping its wings. “Yes, sorry, yes of course. May I get you anything? Water? Tea? Have you had breakfast? I have leftovers from—” Kouki covered his mouth with his hand. “Crap—no, I mean, I’m not offering you leftovers. Sorry. U-uh, I can make… food. If you want. Soup? Miso soup?”

He received a head shake as a response. “I’ve eaten, thank you. But some water would be nice.”

Kouki was already leaving the room before Akashi-san had even finished his sentence. “Yes! I’ll get that! One second!”

He spent a few seconds hyperventilating in the kitchen, hopping from foot to foot and waving his arms uselessly. He screamed silently. What was he going to do?

He took a few deep breaths. Okay. First get Akashi-san some water. Then ask him what he was here for. He could do this.

Kouki took out his nicest glass (they were from the set his mother gave him and his ex as a wedding gift) and went to the fridge to pour some nice, cold water. He even threw in two ice cubes.

It looked fancy enough.

He put the cup on a small tray and carried it back, taking it one step at a time to avoid tripping and smashing the cup into a million pieces right in front of Akashi-san.

When he returned to the living room, he found Sora and Mitsuo sitting on either side of Akashi-san, talking to each other over his lap. “Yeah, and then this pretty lady said I was so cute and took me to Sei-chan,” Sora looked smug.

“Pretty ladies call me cute too!” Mitsuo protested, feeling slighted. “Yesterday a girl from middle school said I was super cute.”

“ _Guys_ ,” Kouki gasped out, horrified. “What are you doing to my _boss_?”

Akashi-san smiled gently. “It’s okay, Furihata-san.”

Kouki set down the tray and grabbed both kids by the backs of their shirts. “You haven’t even changed, or brushed your teeth, have you? Sora, you have ketchup stains all over the front of your shir—it’s in your hair too! What were you kids doing last night? What’s your mama going to say, Mitsuo? You know how freaky she is about hygiene.”

Sora and Mitsuo wriggled around until Kouki finally let them go. He gave their backs a pat. “Go get clean and dressed, kids.”

Sora pouted at Kouki. “But ‘Tou-chaaan, I can’t leave Sei-chan all by himself. He’ll get lonely!”

Kouki crossed his arms. “I’ll entertain him just fine, Sora. Now go. Both of you.”

They grumbled, and threw puppy eyes over their shoulders, but down the hall they went. Finally.

Kouki rubbed his face. Okay. Now to deal with the second problem. He faced his guest. “I am so sorry about that.”

Akashi-san sipped his water leisurely. “Don’t be. I am thoroughly entertained.”

Huh? Kouki furrowed his brows. “Sorry sir, I just want to make sure… um, was that a joke?”

Akashi-san tilted his head to the side slightly. “Oh, you caught on.”

“Um, yes.”

“Hm.”

The two of them went quiet for a few moments, and Kouki took that opportunity to sit down on the chair opposite to the couch. “Um, Akashi-san?”

“Yes, Furihata-san?” Akashi-san pleasantly responded.

“M-may I ask… uh, I’m not trying to show disrespect in any way b-but, um, is it okay if I ask why you are here?” Kouki stammered out, palms growing sweaty.

Akashi-san put his glass back down on the tray. “Well I did come into your house unannounced, so it would only be right of you to ask.”

“Right,” Kouki agreed. It was silent again. Kouki cleared his throat. Akashi-san stared back at him. The thing about Akashi-san, Kouki was starting to realize, was that he didn’t seem to offer any more information than necessary. And his expressions and body language were all so fine tuned that you could hardly pick up any evidence from there either. All in all, it was becoming a frustrating experience, this whole Interacting With Akashi-san thing. “So… what brings you here, sir?”

Sitting up straighter, Akashi-san folded his hands and let them rest on his knees. “I am here to gain further information on the role I will be playing.”

Seeing Akashi-san suddenly become more formal, Kouki fixed his posture as well. He must’ve looked ridiculous: crazy hair, bare feet, sweatpants with a hole in the knee and a t-shirt with a minimum of three stains on it. “Role?”

“The one Kuroko mentioned.”

Kouki struggled to maintain his composure, because inside his mind there was a shrill shrieking he was certain was coming from his amygdala—the part of the brain responsible for his survival instincts. “O-oh.” He hoped Akashi-san hadn’t heard his voice crack. How was he going to tell him that he didn’t want Akashi-san to become so deeply intertwined in his life without suffering any real repercussions? “A-Akashi-san… I really do apologize for the inconvenience this is causing you. Kuroko-san has been helping me, and I suppose he just saw an opportunity with you and went with it.”

“Kuroko is very spontaneous, yes.”

“Y-yes, well. Um. You see, I don’t want to burden you any farther. I understand that the work of a CEO is time consuming and stressful, so you don’t need to add on more responsibility. Really. I love that this company is willing to help such a small worker like myself, I really appreciate it. I wouldn’t want to make the lives of those helping me any more difficult.”

Akashi-san hummed thoughtfully. “You’re dismissing me.”

Kouki looked down into his lap. He was right, it was his whole monologue condensed into three words.

“Furihata-san, isn’t the Meet-and-Greet just one evening?”

Kouki, looked up, startled. “W-well, ye—”

“I refuse.”

Kouki was shocked. “Wha—”

Akashi-san was drilling into his eyes with his own intense ones and it felt like Kouki couldn’t move. “I’ve already agreed to it. I will go to the Meet-and-Greet with you and your son.”

Now Kouki was just plain perplexed. “But _why_?” he gaped at the CEO. He couldn’t understand why he was so adamant about coming to the event.

Akashi-san raised his chin. “I have no obligation to explain myself to you.”

“If it’s concerning my son, then I have every right to know,” Kouki shot back, and resisted the urge to cover his mouth with his hands. He shouldn’t have said that. If he wasn’t going to be fired before, he probably would be now.

His boss’s eyes narrowed. “Furihata-san, while I agree with your logic, I still don’t want to explain my reasoning. I will not hurt your son, or yourself. I am doing you a favour. Most people would be appreciative of that.”

Kouki's verbal filter began to dissolve as he got more upset. “With all due respect, sir, I did not ask you to do me this favour. Kuroko-san did. And I didn’t want him to ask you, either. I understand that you are both my superiors but I think I deserve a little bit of agency when it comes to making decisions concerning my personal life.”

Akashi-san watched him for a few moments and Kouki did his best to hold his gaze, though after a few seconds he had to avert his eyes. His hands were shaking.

Standing up, Akashi-san dusted off his pants. “Very well. You will hear from me on Monday. Have a good day, Furihata-san.” His tone was neutral.

Kouki was rooted to his seat. He heard Akashi-san put his shoes on and shut the door with a gentle _click_.

He was _definitely_ getting fired.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello friends!
> 
> Thank you for your patience and comments and kudos and all that stuff!! IT MAKES ME SO HAPPY TO READ. I apologize if I haven't replied to your comment yet, I'll get to it soon!!!! 
> 
> I'm tired and fed up with life. School and work and just existing are all things that seem too difficult right now. I just want to sleep for a few days. 
> 
> Please leave me your feedback!! Tell me what I need to improve!
> 
> Thank you again for reading!! I love you!


	5. ... Hmm

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> **The Characters of Baby Bunny Hops Introduce This Chapter:**
> 
>  
> 
>  
> 
> Akashi decided that he couldn't stand by any longer. He approached Furihata and tapped him on the shoulder. 
> 
> "Y... yes?" Furihata asked, eyeing him distrustfully. 
> 
> "I have a trampoline. Would you like to use it?"

Going into work Monday morning was comprised of Kouki spending the whole commute two seconds from a full blown anxiety attack. The feeling of being squished in the subway had evolved into one of being barely able to breathe due to the lack of fresh air. His palms were clammy, his heartbeat rapid, and his face sweaty.

He walked into the office two minutes after he was supposed to be there, which was at least one relief—he wouldn’t get a scolding for being late again.

… He’d probably get a scolding for something else instead.

He carefully put his bag on his desk and hung his coat up, in complete awareness of the fact that this would most likely be the last time he would ever go through these actions again.

Kouki sat down, hands folded in his lap and back straight. He stared blankly at the picture of Sora grinning widely and holding a ladybug. Nii-san was leaving, how would he be able to care of Sora if he lost his job?

All because he couldn’t keep his mouth shut. What a _mess_.

“Hey, Kou-chan,” Takao came up to his desk, perching himself up on the edge. “The boss wants you in his office. He told me to tell you.” Takao cocked his head, a little confused. “He looked kind of serious?”

Impossibly, it felt like Kouki’s eyes got wider.

“Hey… you don’t look so good. Should I tell him you gotta take the day off? Are you sick?” Takao peered closer at his face. “Kou-chan? Are you even breathing?”

Kouki gave a tight shake of his head.

Grabbing some tissues, Takao gently dabbed at his face. “I’ll go with you. And then I’ll call a cab to take you home. You need some rest.”

Kouki couldn’t tell whether he responded or not, but he allowed himself to be led to the back of the office, where Kuroko-san’s personal office was situated.

Taking a final glance at Kouki, Takao tapped on the door once before opening it up. “Hey, Kuroko, I brought Kou-chan. He doesn’t look very good, though,” he explained as he pulled Kouki into the room and sat him down in one of the chairs. “Look at him. The man’s a mess.”

“That’s normal,” Kuroko-san sighed.

Takao shrugged. “Well yeah, but he was never this sweaty. It’s kinda gross.”

Kuroko-san watched Kouki for a minute. “… You’re right. Anyway, thank you for bringing him. You can go now.”

Kuroko-san received a pout. “But I want to see the drama.”

Pinching the bridge of his nose, Kuroko-san waved Takao off. Once the door shut, he sat up and fixed Kouki with a blank look as Kouki tried to steady his breathing unsuccessfully. “I made a mistake.”

Kouki was unresponsive. He stared at the edge of the desk.

“I shouldn’t have given Akashi-kun your address.”

That pulled Kouki right out of his dazed state. “ _You_ gave Akashi-san my address? Is that why he showed up at my _apartment_? I thought he just took it. But you willingly _gave_ it to him?”

Kuroko-san lowered his eyes. “Yes.”

“ _Why_?” Kouki choked out. “I’m probably going to get fired today, Kuroko-san. Why would you give it to him?”

“He… made some compelling arguments.”

“What arguments could he have possibly made that would warrant him showing up at my house at practically dawn?” Kouki’s voice was at the brink of a cry, and he slumped back into his seat almost immediately. “I’m sorry for yelling. I just… I can’t lose my job. I don’t have anything to fall back on if I lose my only source of income. I won’t have any family here soon. Please help me out.”

Kuroko-san nodded. “Akashi-kun asked me to send you to his office when you came into work today, but I’ll come with you and try to calm him down if he does anything stupid.”

Kouki knew that he made a pathetic scared squeak sound at the back of his throat, and sunk lower into his seat, covering his face. “I’m getting fired.”

“I apologize, Furihata-kun. I’ll do my best to make sure that doesn’t happen.”

Kouki remained silent for a moment, trying to calm his heart rate. It didn’t work. “Do we have to go now?” He peeked at Kuroko-san through his fingers.

Kuroko-san nodded, eyes downcast.

With a sniffle, Kouki sat up and grabbed a few sheets of tissue paper from the box on Kuroko-san’s desk, dabbing at his face and neck. “D-do I look okay?”

Kuroko-san appraised Kouki for a moment before choosing to remain silent. Kouki sighed.

The journey to Akashi-san’s office on the twentieth floor was comprised of silence and nervous sweating. Kouki was visibly shaking when Akashi-san’s office came into view. The mahogany doors now felt like a looming death sentence and Kouki really just wanted to run right out the building and onto some deserted island.

“Don’t be afraid, Furihata-san. Everything will be fine,” Kuroko-san tried to console. Even though Kouki was still a little mad at him, his soft voice and controlled tone sent a wave of calm over Kouki’s frazzled nerves.

He could only nod in response.

Taking a deep breath, Kouki watched Kuroko-san step forward and tap on the doors with his knuckles. “Akashi-kun? It’s me,” Kuroko-san gave Kouki a sidelong glance. “… and Furihata-san.”

“Come in.”

Kouki squeaked a little at how imposing Akashi-san sounded and took a few steps back, shaking his head furiously. Kuroko-san nodded his head towards the door, which he held open a crack. Kouki made an X with his arms and mouthed pathetic _“no, please, I don’t want to!”_ -s at Kuroko-san, who rolled his eyes and gestured at him to come closer. Kouki continued to step back, until he bumped into a potted tree sitting in the hallway.

“Furihata-san!” Kuroko-san hissed, letting go of the door knob and grabbing Kouki’s hand.

“Please, no!” Kouki begged, not allowing himself to be dragged away. He held onto the tree trunk with his other hand. Kuroko-san was surprisingly strong, and his grip on the tree was slipping, thanks to the already moist state of his palm.

“I said, come in!” Akashi-san called, a little more roughly this time.

Kouki let go of the tree immediately. “Oh shit, he’s mad,” he whispered.

Kuroko-san sighed in his ever-suffering way and guided Kouki back to the door. Kuroko-san’s cool hand was the only source of comfort Kouki was feeling right now. He tightened his grip. There was no way Kouki was going to let Kuroko-san release his hand now.

They stepped into the room, and Kouki was taken aback by the sheer _luxury_ of it. A heavily traditional design, with lots of wood and ornate carvings, lit by lamps that somehow made the whole room glow. And right smack dab in the middle of it all, was Akashi-san—his hair somehow looking a lot more blood-red than his regular shade—sat at a huge desk with a sleek monitor put off to the side. Akashi-san’s chair looked so plush and regal.

And Akashi-san himself?

He looked like he was ready to say, “off with his head!”. He didn’t look mad, but his expression was so carefully blank that it was terrifying.

Kouki had become used to Kuroko-san’s blank looks, because that was his usual facial expression anyway. But seeing that same expression on Akashi-san sent an arrow of fear right through his heart.

“Why are you here, Kuroko?” Akashi-san asked dismissively, his whole gaze trained onto Kouki. His knees were shaking—he wondered if it was visible.

“It was my mistake to give you Furihata-san’s address, so I’m here to make sure you don’t do anything too serious,” Kuroko-san seemed almost exasperated, and Kouki could not fathom how anyone could feel any other emotion besides _fear_ in this room.

Akashi-san waved his concern away. “I just want to _talk_ with Furihata.” Somehow, his voice was predatory. “Come closer, Furihata. You’re standing too far for me to comfortably… hear you.”

Kouki was pretty sure Kuroko-san would give him a scolding later on about the intensity with which Kouki gripped Kuroko-san’s hand, but now was not the time to think about such things. He looked to Kuroko-san for help.

He heard Kuroko-san mutter something unintelligible under his breath, then proceeded to approach Akashi-san’s desk, toting Kouki along.

Kouki noticed Akashi-san’s eyes zero in on Kouki and Kuroko-san’s entwined hands, and then up to Kuroko-san’s face—the first time he spared a glance at him. “You can leave, Kuroko,” he sounded almost bored.

“You know I’m not going to,” Kuroko-san replied, equally as bored.

And suddenly Kouki felt like he was a peasant in a room with two kings, both playing a careful game of politics to see who would waver first. It was terrifying.

Akashi-san rolled his eyes. “Fine, but just go stand over there. Give him space. He’s not a child.” He gestured to the right of the desk.

Albeit reluctantly, Kuroko-san had to pry Kouki’s hand from his, finger by finger. “Furihata-san, please. You’re being ridiculous.”

Kouki had been struck mute the minute they had walked into the room, so he didn’t respond. Eventually, the two of them were separated, and Kuroko-san gave Kouki space—about two steps away of it.

“Now, Furihata-san,” Akashi-san turned his attentions to Kouki.

Kouki stared back, wide eyed.

Akashi-san didn’t seem to mind the lack of response. “I was confused at your response to me the other day. I was also a little bit offended—”

Kouki bowed ninety-degrees immediately, eyes scrunched tight. “I am so, so sorry, Akashi-san! Please don’t fire me! I have to support my kid, please at least give me a few days so that I can find a new job, please!”

Silence. Cautious, Kouki peeked upwards to see Akashi-san regarding him with a casual tilt of his head and the same bored expression he was wearing before, but with a quirk of his lips that seemed almost mocking. He weaved his fingers together and rested his chin on them. “Ah, this would be the natural train of thought. I see.”

What was that supposed to mean? Kouki furrowed his brows, but didn’t dare vocalize his confusion.

“As I was saying, Furihata-san, I was a bit offended. I was offering my services to you, and I was… _rejected_ ,” he made a face, as if the word tasted badly on his tongue. “I’ve never experienced that before. It was very… how should I put it? Unpleasant, I guess.”

Kouki’s neck was strained.

“Please stand up, Furihata-san. I am going to proposition you again, seeing as how you’ve changed your demeanor. Being in one’s own home probably would give anyone the same confidence you had.” Akashi-san waited until Kouki hesitantly stood upright before continuing. “I would like to accompany you to your son’s school event.”

And he left it at that. He watched Kouki, expectant.

Was that it? What was he supposed to say to that? Was he going to be bullied into doing something he didn’t want, just because Akashi-san was a superior? Kouki had always feared he’d become one of those men, and here he was now, a defining moment of truth. He had pondered often on how he would respond to this type of scenario. His reactions would range from meek to downright explosive. Which would he do now?

“I-I,” his voice cracked, and Kouki grasped his throat, embarrassed.

Akashi-san raised a brow, unimpressed. “Kuroko, get him some water.”

With a sigh, Kuroko-san fetched a water bottle for him from a room deeper in the office. “If this wasn’t my employee, Akashi-kun, I would have been very angry about you thinking you could order me around like that.”

With shaking hands, Kouki uncapped the bottle and brought it to his mouth to take a few gulps.

“Kuroko, can you please not undermine me while we’re with another employee? How many times have I had to tell you this?”

“Akashi-kun needs to be told the same thing several times to have it stick in his mind, it seems.”

“When Furihata-san leaves I’m going to have to have some words with you.”

“Ah, what a coincidence. I was thinking the same thing.”

“U-um—,”Kouki flinched when the gazes of both men swung around to rest on him. “A-Akashi-san, may I please ask why you’re so interested in coming to the meet-and-greet? I understand that you said it was none of my business—”

Kuroko-san cut Kouki off. “You actually said that?”

“—but I would like to stand by the idea that whatever involves my son is my business,” Kouki finished, and immediately took two more gulps of water. His heart was racing.

With Kuroko-san keeping a sharp eye on Akashi-san, Akashi-san seemed almost sheepish. His glance flitted between Kuroko-san and Kouki repeatedly, and after a few moments, he exhaled deeply, relaxing back into his seat. “I really do wish you hadn’t brought Kuroko with you.”

Kouki was unsure whether he was supposed to respond. Kuroko-san stood next to Kouki, arms crossed and expression expectant.

Akashi-san bit his lip for a moment before raising his chin defiantly and crossing his arms across his chest, like Kuroko-san. “I think your son is very cute, okay?”

“Sorry?” Kouki thought he might have misheard.

Akashi-san almost scoffed. “I’m not repeating myself.”

Kuroko-san rubbed his face with his hands, speechless.

Kouki was unsure how to respond to this. He looked to Kuroko-san for assistance. Kuroko-san finally looked up, and when he did, his eyes were very tired. Kouki quickly realized he would be getting no help from Kuroko-san.

“W-well… um. If that’s the case th-then I guess—” Kouki began, and Akashi-san stood up, smiling triumphantly.

“Perfect,” he picked up his phone from his desk and pressed a few buttons on it before shoving it into Kouki’s hand. “Put your number into my phone and send me the details of where I should be.”

“I-I didn’t sa—” Kouki tried again, but Kuroko-san cut him off this time.

Kuroko-san decided to interrupt. “You’re ridiculous, you know that? And very stubborn. First the train thing, and now this.”

Train thing? Kouki was intrigued. This would explain why Akashi-san, being a rich CEO and all, was in the subway almost the whole week.

Akashi-san waved away Kuroko-san’s words, which he appeared to be prone to doing. Instead, he gestured at the phone. “Hurry up, Furihata-san. We’re wasting work hours.”

That brought Kouki back to reality, and he fumbled with the phone, almost dropping it. Instead, he dropped the water bottle he was holding and quickly typed his details into the phone before he knew what he was doing. He didn’t even have time to press ‘save’—Akashi-san snatched the phone back from him and read over the details. “Great. You two may go back to work now,” Akashi-san ordered without another glance at them. He was preoccupied with his phone.

Kuroko-san let his head hang back for a moment, as if asking the ceiling for help. He then grabbed Kouki’s hand and began to lead him out of the room. That was, until a pen flew and got Kuroko-san right in the back of this head.

Shocked, Kouki turned around to Akashi-san waving at him nonchalantly. He was thoroughly confused. It became even more confusing when Kuroko-san _smirked_ (!) at Akashi-san and waved back at him with their entwined hands.

Once they were out of the office and in the elevator, Kouki let go of Kuroko-san’s hand and slumped against the wall, sliding down to sit. He supposed his legs finally gave way. They had worked hard. He resisted the urge to pat his knees fondly.

“I’m not fired,” Kouki mumbled to himself. He repeated it a few times, voice gaining strength. “I’m not fired!”

Kuroko-san gave a wry little chuckle under his breath as pressed the button for the ninth floor. “You know he got what he wanted, right?”

Kouki was grinning ear to ear. “What do you mean? We won! He didn’t fire me!” Today had been a triumph!

Kuroko-san shook his head. “He convinced you to let him go with you to the event for your son. And he got your number. So, he won. We were played.”

His grin faltered. “Oh my god.”

The door opened to the ninth floor and Kuroko-san stepped out. “I’ll let you collect yourself.”

The elevator door shut.

Oh god.

-x-x-x-

That night, as he was bathing Sora, he got a message. Kouki continued to scrub the shampoo into Sora’s hair with one hand and dried the other one on his sweater so that he could reach into his pocket and take out his phone.

**Unknown -- 7:52 pm**

_Hello Furihata-san_

Kouki’s natural reaction was to yelp. His grip on the phone faltered, and the phone fell into the bathtub.

“SH—POOP. OH MY GOD,” Kouki yelled, abandoning Sora’s head and diving for the phone.

Sora startled at the abrupt movement and lost his own balance, slipping in the tub. Kouki twisted himself to catch Sora, which he did, but he ended up with half of his body wet and soapy on the tub’s floor. To make matters worse, the shampoo got into Sora’s eyes, which triggered the inevitable screaming. Holding the phone up high with one hand to keep it relatively dry, Kouki reached over to turn on the tap so that he could clean his hand and then wipe it across Sora’s eyes a few times.

“You okay, So-chan?” Kouki asked once Sora was no longer screaming at the top of his lungs.

Sora squinted at Kouki, testing out his eyes. They didn’t seem to be stinging anymore, so he grinned. “Yup!” He then busied himself with playing with his duck and boat.

Kouki was a mess. But there was nothing he could do. Using his foot, he kicked the towel closer to himself so that he could grab it and dry the phone.

“Please, please work,” he muttered to himself as he turned it on experimentally. Thanks to whatever deity that was up there (or just the phone manufacturer), the phone turned on just fine. The sigh of relief that left him was massive.

He opened the text thread with Akashi-san, then paused, heart stopping for a second.

Oh no.

Oh, please, please no.

**Me – 7:53 pm**

_Fashjkg% >lkas_

Kouki would admit it—he screamed. Loudly and despairingly. While kicking his legs like a child as they hung over the edge of the tub.

Sora thought it was a game so he joined in, of course.

To make matters worse, Akashi-san decided to respond.

**Unknown – 7:55 pm**

_I do not understand_

Feeling immensely sorry for himself, Kouki sniffled a little as he wiped his hands on the towel and picked his phone back up to type.

**Me – 7:55 pm**

_I am so sorry Akashi-san I was giving Sora a bath and the phone fell in the tub and I fell in the tub and Sora fell in the tub and that was sent accidentally I am so sorry_

**Unknown – 7:56 pm**

_I see._

Was he mad?

 _Why would he be mad?_ A more rational part of his brain yelled. _It’s not like you hurt him!_

But still…

His heart was racing in fear. He was kind of glad he was in the tub now, as uncomfortable as it may have been, it was washing away his sweat.

**Unknown – 7:58 pm**

_Can you send a picture of him?_

What?

**Me – 7:58 pm**

_I’m sorry, who?_

**Unknown – 7:59 pm**

_Your son_

… what.

That… wasn’t creepy at all. Nope.

Kouki glanced at Sora, who was butt naked and giving himself a shampoo mohawk. He wasn’t sure whether he wanted to share that with his boss.

**Unknown – 8:00 pm**

_Intelligent sources have told me that it is inappropriate for me to ask that question. As such, I will be calling you in approximately two minutes._

What the fuck?

This felt like a dream. It was surreal. There was no way that the CEO of his company would be calling Kouki in the evening while Kouki was soaking in the bathtub with all his clothes on.

And yet, his ringtone sounded.

Hesitantly, he accepted the call and put it to his ear. “H-hello?”

“Hello Furihata-san,” said Akashi-san, and Akashi-san’s voice over the phone was very deep and cool-sounding and made Kouki’s bisexual heart jump a little.

No. He would not _fawn_ over his boss’s voice. This very boss was causing him too much stress. No.

“Furihata-san?”

“A-ah, yes, sorry, hi, hello. W-was there something you needed to discuss?” Kouki asked, hesitant.

“Please put Sora on the phone.”

Kouki moved the phone from his ear for a moment to look at it in confusion. Had he heard right? “W-why?”

“I want to see how he is doing,” Akashi-san’s voice was very casual, as if asking to speak with a six-year-old you barely knew was normal.

But was there any real harm in it? He supposed not. Kouki shouldn’t be so overprotective of Sora, otherwise he wouldn’t grow independent. He pressed a button and said, “Okay, you’re on speaker.”

Sora had been distracted with his bath toys the whole time, very obviously loving the extended playtime he was receiving. Akashi-san’s voice did a complete 180, and when he spoke he sounded almost… soft. “Furihata-kun?”

Sora turned around, staring at the phone. “Yeah?”

Kouki flicked Sora on the head. “Hey, be polite.”

Sora sighed, giving his boat a sidelong glance. “Yes?”

“It’s Sei-chan.”

Sora’s manner changed completely. Grinning, he sat facing the phone. “Hi Sei-chan! I’m playing with my boat and duck!”

Akashi-san chuckled. “That’s very cool, Furihata-kun. Did you know I’m coming with your father to your meet-and-greet?”

It was completely dramatic, the gasp that Sora let out. “That’s so great! You won’t be mean like the bad lady, and you’re awesome, so people won’t bother ‘Tou-chan too!”

“Sora!” Kouki hissed, embarrassed. Like the situation wasn’t bad enough.

“Oh, do people bother him?” Akashi-san asked, interested.

“No!” Kouki cut in, giving Sora a very pointed look when he opened his mouth. “Do you have anything else you would like to discuss, Akashi-san? Like I said, we’re both in the tub and I don’t want Sora to catch a cold.”

There was a sound on the other end, a little like a snort, but Kouki was pretty convinced that Akashi-san couldn’t snort, or do anything undignified for that matter. “Did you really fall into the tub because of your phone?”

Stricken, Kouki decided on what seemed like the best solution at the time. “Khzzt, khzzt, oh, Akashi-san, I think—tffph, chzzt—my phone is waterlogged, gotta go, bye!”

And he ended the call.

Kouki was certain that hanging up on your boss was a certified Bad Move, but Kouki was not going to be the one to admit that _yes_ , he had fallen into the tub because he dropped the phone out of fear of a simple text.

“Okay, Sora, let’s get you rinsed, then it’s bedtime,” Kouki decided, trying to hoist himself out of the tub. It didn’t seem to be working. “Sora, give ‘Tou-chan a push please.”

“’Tou-chan this is kinda embarrassing,” Sora said as he pushed his father until he could sit up straight and pull himself out of the tub.

“Oh shush, you. When you’re older I’m gonna embarrass you more, just you watch.”

-x-x-x-

The meet-and-greet was in a few days, and it was making Kouki exceedingly nervous.

It seemed stupid, to be frightened of visiting his own son’s school. But he knew he had valid reasons to feel this way.

The odd behaviour from his wife began around the time Sora had just turned five. She would stay out for long hours, she would be distant from Kouki when she returned home, and conversation on her end was impatient and stilted. She would never tell him where she went.

His ex had worked at a publishing company and was fairly established in her field. He knew her work was exerting, so when she had started coming home late, he had just written it off to being backlogged with projects. She never disagreed, nor agreed for that matter. It should have tipped Kouki off early on that something was the matter. But he was stressed with his own work, plus taking care of Sora.

Those days, he often envied his brother. Nii-san seemed to be doing just fine—him and his wife had just had their second child, work was doing great, and every time Kouki saw him, he seemed to be glowing with contentment.

And then Kouki would come home and look in the mirror after his shower, and his dark eye bags would still be there, the weariness in his eyes were ever present. And it was just getting harder and harder as his ex participated less and less at home.

That didn’t mean she didn’t watch out for Sora. She listened to his stories and brought him treats, so Sora loved his mother endlessly. Kouki would never complain about his ex in front of Sora, only because he didn’t want to ruin the illusion Sora had of her. No reason for both of them to be unhappy.

Kouki also began to feel very lonely. Before, they would hold hands, would kiss sweetly, would give each other hugs on a day-to-day basis. Of course, Kouki knew that affection tended to die down after a few years into a marriage, but Kouki wanted to work hard to keep that spark between the two of them. He tried to initiate contact several times, but she would always dodge the gesture or would cleverly come up with an excuse to be somewhere else at that moment.

He hadn’t known it then, but his heart had begun to break long before his ex had actually left.

The lack of contact was what created the eternal fear Kouki felt whenever he visited his son’s school. There had been an event at school, some play or other, that Sora was participating in. Sora had specially begged his mother to come and watch him. He knew Kouki would be there, but his mother was a bit of a wild card in that aspect.

Kouki had felt so thankful at that time—his ex had come home earlier than usual and had changed into more casual clothing, and was attentively listening to Sora chatter about his role in that day’s production.

Once reaching the school, the two of them dropped Sora off to his classroom and then headed to the auditorium to find seats in silence.

After a few minutes awkwardly tapping on his phone, Kouki cleared his throat. “How was your day?” he had asked.

“Fine.” She hadn’t even looked up from her phone.

Kouki quieted down. He instead tried to distract himself by watching the other parents. The other parents seemed to have no problem holding hands, grinning at each other. A couple two rows ahead of them were even playing a game of some sorts. It was cute.

Kouki’s heart suddenly longed for that sort of easy relationship again.

Gathering his courage, Kouki slowly put his arm around his ex’s shoulders.

She shook him off immediately, leaning away from him until his hand was on his own lap.

There was a sudden deep heaviness in his chest. “Why did you—”

The lights suddenly shut off, and the curtains parted to reveal the MC.

He felt bad about it, but Kouki couldn’t focus on the play. Even when Sora come out, dressed up in his dragon costume, Kouki only half-heartedly recorded his son. After his ex had left, Kouki had stumbled upon that video again, and the way that the camera’s focus kept slipping away from Sora’s figure had broken his heart all over again. It was promptly deleted.

At that time, however, Kouki couldn’t do anything to help it. His mind kept on swirling with self-hatred, completely confused but somehow convinced that Kouki had done something to warrant this type of behaviour.

He felt like he was going to burst.

So, when the intermission came and the lights turned back on, Kouki took a deep breath and turned to his ex.

“Why won’t you let me touch you anymore?” he had asked, blunt. At the back of his mind, he knew that the school’s auditorium was not the best place to have this conversation, but Kouki couldn’t hold it in any longer. Months of neglect had built up into _this_.

His ex had turned to him, wide eyed. She obviously hadn’t thought that Kouki would bring it up. But Kouki did not waver, and held her gaze firmly. He hoped she could see the pain and confusion on his face.

Instead, she just turned away from him. She pulled her phone out of her bag and completely disregarded his question.

He had been ignored.

Frustrated, Kouki pulled the phone out of her grasp and tugged on her arm to get her to face him again. She looked irritated, then. “What?”

“Why won’t you let me touch you?” he demanded now. “Am I—am I repulsive? Do I smell? Do you need space? Just _tell_ me. You never talk to me anymore, just say what you’re feeling.”

“Say what I’m feeling?” she asked in the most terrifying whisper. “Just watch the damn play, Kouki. Leave me alone.”

“But _why_?” Kouki practically begged. “Why should I leave you alone? Do you not love me anymore? Is that it?”

“What if I don’t?” His ex burst out, and the people sitting near them quieted down. She ripped her arm out of Kouki’s hold. “What if I don’t like being touched by you anymore? What are you going to do then? Are you happy now? Just _leave me alone_.”

With that, she got up and left the auditorium.

And that was all it took to start the rumours flying.

It was very bad in the beginning—accusations of Kouki being abusive flew around from the mouths of gossipy parents and Kouki was even called into the principal’s office for a “friendly” questioning, just to make sure everything was alright at home. After Kouki had explained that his marriage was a little rocky at the moment, but that he made sure to keep it away from Sora at all costs, the principal let Kouki go. But despite that, the other parents would just not stop looking at Kouki suspiciously.

Of course, after his ex left, the rumours restarted but with different spins of them. And with that, brought a mix of reactions. Divorced fathers would come and pat Kouki’s back to “sympathize” and invite him to things that sounded suspiciously like orgies. The mothers would usher their children away from Kouki whenever Kouki came to pick Sora up, “just in case”. All of it was all very exhausting, and Sora was not immune to it. He was very much aware of his sudden decrease in playmates and the sympathetic looks he got from parents.

The worst part for Kouki was when Sora came home one day, downcast. When Kouki had asked what the matter was, Sora had said, “my friend’s mom told my friend not to play with me because I might be a bad influence.”

That’s when Kouki got his nii-san to start picking Sora up from school. He figured that the less they saw of Kouki, the less of a connection the rumours would have to Sora’s school life. And it worked, in a way. They tolerated Kouki now as the rumours died down, and Sora seemed brighter these days.

The bottom-line of this whole thing was that even though it had been a year since the whole situation, the residual effects of the past still influenced the behaviours of the people at Sora’s school. Kouki would have put Sora into a different school once Kouki had found out that Sora was losing friends because of it, but Sora was so attached to Mitsuo, and Kouki did not want to add another change into Sora’s current environment.

As such, he was here. Stuck. Logically, he knew that if he took Akashi-san to the meet-and-greet and introduced him as some sort of family friend/long-lost-uncle/godfather, they would perhaps acknowledge Sora’s family life to be at least a little stable. Stable enough to put Kouki back into their good books—or at least have them not look at Kouki as if he was an escaped convict.

There was no reason to not take Akashi-san. Nothing that didn’t have to do with Kouki’s pathetic feelings of inferiority.

Besides, Akashi-san had decided for himself that he was going. He supposed that was that.

-x-x-x-

At promptly 5:00 pm on the dot, the doorbell rung.

Kouki couldn’t help but scowl. He knew he shouldn’t—he should be pleasant. This was a favour being done for him, after all.

And yet, here he was. Completely displeased. Kuroko-san had been right; he had been conned into this. Kouki was having second, third, and fourth thoughts about taking Akashi-san of all people to Sora’s school.

This was definitely going to restart the rumours.

The doorbell rang again.

Akashi-san was too insistent. He was stubborn. He didn’t seem to like to take no for an answer. He bulldozed his way through problems just to get his way.

He was the complete opposite of Kouki.

Sighing, Kouki opened the door. Outside stood Akashi-san in a button-down shirt, holding a plastic convenience store bag.

“Hello,” he said, but was already peering around Kouki’s frame. “Please let me in.”

A little confused, Kouki stepped aside. Akashi-san took his shoes off and stepped into the hallway, peeking into the living room and kitchen. “Where’s Furihata-kun?”

When Akashi-san had said wanted to help Kouki because he thought Sora was cute, Kouki had been certain, after a few moments of stupefaction, that Akashi-san had only said that to get out of the situation. But now, seeing him look eager, well…

… maybe Akashi-san had been telling the truth?

Which was odd, in all honesty. Why had Akashi-san grown so attached to his son? They had spoken for what couldn’t have been more than an hour, considering the fact that Sora had claimed to have met a wide array of people the time he went missing at work.

Kouki was at a loss of what to make of this whole situation.

“Sei-chan, you’re here!” Sora yelled, running out from his bedroom and launching himself at Akashi-san’s legs. Just like last time, Akashi-san’s hands hung uselessly in the air for a time, shooting a befuddled glance at Kouki.

Kouki didn’t understand what there was to be so _befuddled_ by.

Akashi-san used his right hand to pat Sora’s head twice. “Hello Furihata-kun.”

“I’m gonna show you my school today! I’ll show you my art! My teacher loved it so much she put it on the wall in my classroom! And,” Sora gasped. “You can play with me and Mitsu-chan! We’ll teach you how to use the blocks!”

The tenseness in Akashi-san’s shoulders fell away as he laughed gently. “We’ll let Furihata-san decide what I’m allowed to do today, Furihata-kun. He’s in charge.”

Which was a nice thing to say, Kouki decided. A very nice thing to say. Completely different from bullying his way into getting what he wanted. Kouki crossed his arms and leaned against the wall, watching the interaction.

Sora made a face. “’Tou-chan said you’re his boss, so you gotta tell him what to do!” Sora protested. “Tell him you gotta play with the blocks!”

With a serious expression, Akashi-san tilted his head to lock eyes with Kouki. “Furihata-san, I _must_ play with the blocks. That is an order.”

Hearing something so juvenile come out of such a serious and imposing figure made Kouki lose it for a minute. With a snort, he tried to muffle his snickers behind his fist. “Wh-whatever you say, sir.” Kouki responded in between laughs.

Sora was pleased with this turn of events and cheered very loudly. “Now let’s go! We hafta get there early so that I can show him the playground!”

They locked up and headed downstairs. Once they reached the parking lot, Kouki went in the direction of his seldom used car. Akashi-san went the opposite direction, then glanced back in confusion when he noticed neither Sora or Kouki were behind him. “Furihata-san, where are you going?”

Kouki furrowed his brows. “Car,” Kouki replied, jerking a thumb in its general direction.

“Would you like to take mine?” Akashi-san offered, walking back up to them. “It’s very comfortable.” Akashi-san looked past Kouki’s shoulder to see the few cars sitting in their parking spots—all of them looking fairly old and a little beat up.

Kouki shook his head. “Thank you sir, but I’d prefer it if we took my car.”

“Why?” Akashi-san asked, a little taken aback.

Now Kouki was also confused. “What do you mean?”

“I mean…” Akashi-san hesitated for a second, glancing over Kouki’s shoulder again, then meeting his eyes. “People always want to get driven around in my car, so I thought I’d allow you the opportunity.”

Kouki chuckled and shook his head. “That’s okay, maybe next time.” With that, he proceeded to his car, clicking the button to unlock the doors. “Come, Sora.”

Sora hopped into the back and let himself get buckled in. Kouki got into the driver’s seat and stuck the key in the ignition. Before he started the car, he realized Akashi-san was still standing outside. “Come in, Akashi-san,” Kouki invited, motioning for him to get in. Kouki grabbed a few coupon books sitting on the passenger seat and tossed them into the back. Gingerly, Akashi-san opened the door and took a seat.

“Wow, you took forever, Sei-chan!” Sora laughed. Akashi-san forced a laugh in return.

Upon the first try of turning the car on, the car made a few clicking sounds. Kouki laughed awkwardly. “It’s because I haven’t driven it in a while, sorry.”

Akashi-san gripped the sides of the seat tight.

After one more try, the engine sputtered to life and both Kouki and Akashi-san sighed in relief, though perhaps for different reasons.

Once the car was on the road, Akashi-san decided to speak. “Why have you not driven your car recently? You take the train to work too, correct?” His grip on the seat was still white-knuckled and there was an undertone of _something_ in his voice. Kouki couldn’t pinpoint it.

Kouki coughed daintily, embarrassed. “Uh, I couldn’t afford a parking spot at work. And I don’t go out much.”

“Oh.”

And then it was silent again.

Kouki didn’t know what to do. Being in an enclosed space with the CEO of his company on his way to Sora’s elementary school was a surreal experience.

After a few minutes of that, Sora decided to butt in. “Hey Sei-chan, why do you look scared?” Sora giggled into his hands.

Approaching the red light, Kouki took a second to sneak a look at Akashi-san. Sora was right, Akashi-san’s face was a little pale and he sat rigidly. “Are you alright?”

Akashi-san didn’t even look at him when he responded with a short, “yes.”

It took a few seconds but Kouki understood. “My car isn’t going to fall apart, sir,” Kouki offered as a way to calm him down, but he couldn’t hide the amusement in his voice. “It’s a little old but it’s never failed me.”

“Of course.”

Maybe a change of conversation would be a better direction to go in. “So, Akashi-san, uh… may I ask you a question?”

This might have piqued Akashi-san’s curiousity a little bit, because he finally peeled his eyes away from the road to look at Kouki. “Yes.”

“If you have your own car—and I assume you have your own parking space,” Kouki added in wryly, “why did I see you on the subway so often?”

Akashi-san’s eyes narrowed. “It was not out of my own choice.”

“… oh…” Kouki intoned, waiting for Akashi-san to continue.

He sighed, realizing that Kouki would be expecting more. “My… friends, I guess, started talking about how I grew up very privileged. Which is true. And then they decided to challenge me.”

“Challenge?”

“Mhm. They wanted me to live like I was of the middle-class for a whole week. They even made a list of things I wasn’t allowed to do. Driving my car was one of those things.”

Kouki laughed. That was unexpected. “Was it hard?”

Finally, Akashi-san’s grip on the seat loosened. He crossed his arms and leaned back, obviously miffed by the memory. “Rather than hard, it was annoying. I couldn’t get my usual meals, I had to sit in a crowded train. My coffee tasted disgusting. And they kept such a good eye on me, I couldn’t cheat even if I wanted to.”

Pulling into the school’s parking lot, Kouki grinned. “Your friends make difficult challenges.”

“We’re all above average in one way or another, so childish games such as these end up being played just to keep us entertained. Unfortunately, that week I was the victim of the game. I like it better when it isn’t me,” Akashi-san sighed, then perked up when he saw the school’s sign. “Oh, we’ve arrived.” He undid his seatbelt in a haste and stepped out of the car to stretch.

Kouki turned the engine off, thinking about how Akashi-san could so easily say him and his group of friends were “above average”. He said it like it was a fact, not an opinion. Like he had been told that his whole life. And he probably had.

He sighed. He supposed that was the norm for people of Akashi-san’s class. Thankfully, he’d only have to endure it for one more day, then he could go back to his life, pretending he still didn’t know who Akashi Seijuuoru, the CEO, was.

“Let me out, ‘Tou-chan! Sei-chan is already out! We gotta go!” Sora cried, attempting to undo the seatbelt himself. “I’m stuck!”

Kouki sighed once more at the thought of what was to come ahead. “Comin’, kiddo.”

-x-x-x-

“So the story is that you’re Sora’s godfather and that you came here simply for support.”

Akashi-san chuckled wryly as the three of them walked down the hallway towards Sora’s classroom. “Which I did.”

Kouki nodded. “Yes. So it should be no problem.”

“Yes. Why are you so concerned?”

The classroom door came into view, and he noticed familiar fathers milling around the entrance. “B-because these people were convinced at some point that I did a very bad thing, and so they treat me weird. I don’t like it. A-and I can’t act normally around them because of it. And that just reinforces the idea that I’m flawed and potentially harmful,” Kouki blurted out in a hurry, “So j-just. If someone talks to me and you think it’s going bad, just cut in. That’s why you’re here. Please.”

He felt Akashi-san watch him with an inquisitive stare. “Alright.”

Kouki nodded. “Okay, okay, we’re here. Be cool.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys, 
> 
> it's been a while! I was gonna make the chapter longer but then I realized it was 7000+ words and that I was stuck, so I've decided to just put this up. I hope you like it. Again, I appreciate feedback on my chapter, please tell me where I can improve!!
> 
> Life has been stagnant and stressful and tiring even without doing much. How's it going for you guys? Life advice is also appreciated. Where do I get my passion for life back?
> 
> Thanks for reading guys!!! Love you <3 <3


	6. Trying to Make Things Better

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> **The Characters of Baby Bunny Hops Introduce This Chapter:**
> 
>  
> 
>  
> 
> "So? Do you need to trampoline? Do you want my help?" Akashi asks.
> 
> Furihata makes a face. "I don't want any help, but I might need some."
> 
> "That's okay. You just have to help me figure out how to put the trampoline together."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Quick catch up, so you aren't confused (because it's been a while since i've posted): the day for the father's meet-and-greet has finally arrived, and Kouki is very anxious and Akashi is calm about it, and Sora is excited to play with his friends. Kouki drove them there, and Akashi was quite nervous in Kouki's car bc it was old looking, but he got used to it as he talked about why Kouki saw him on the subway so often for a week. 
> 
> Right before this chapter begins, Kouki, Akashi, and Sora have all just arrived at the school.

Sitting at the tiny desks with Sora and Akashi-san, surrounded by all the people who accused Kouki of being an abuser was a surreal experience, to say the least.

Firstly, seeing Akashi-san try to fit himself into the small chair behind the small desk with dignity was hilarious, but he was too nervous to laugh. Sora had found Mitsuo and the two of them were running around with a little girl with long, straight black hair that Kouki had only seen a few times.

“This isn’t so bad, I don’t understand why you were so worried,” Akashi-san said quietly, facing ahead at the teacher who was greeting parents and shuffling papers.

“I… I think no one has come to talk to me yet because you’re here,” Kouki replied, staring into his lap. It was working. He wouldn’t have to suffer through the endless questions and crude jokes and complete intrusion of privacy.

Akashi-san crossed his arms and leaned back, sighing. Kouki felt bad, suddenly. He hadn’t wanted Akashi-san to come with him in the first place, but now that he was here, Kouki was worried that he was wasting Akashi-san’s time. This whole thing had been blown up into something much bigger than it had to be. If Kouki had just sucked it up and attended, then the CEO of one of the most influential companies in the country wouldn’t have to be sitting at a tiny desk in a classroom with 20-something hyperactive children running around and their weird dads.

Just when Kouki was going to fall into some Heavy Brooding, the teacher at the front, Sasaki-sensei, clapped her hands a few times. “Kids, let’s go sit next to your parents.”

With a few groans, the kids returned to their seats and Sasaki-sensei’s eyes scanned the room. Kouki noticed her gaze catch on Akashi-san for a second, and he prayed she wouldn’t say anything.

 “Welcome to the Father’s Meet-and-Greet for class 1-B,” the teacher said. “As you may already know, the goal of this event is to encourage fathers to be more proactive in the lives of their children and to take part in shaping their education and early years.”

“Sensei, fathers have work to do, besides this,” some guy in the back called, and a few others laughed. Kouki sighed.

Remarkably, Sasaki-sensei continued to smile. “And so do mothers, Ito-san.”

Ito muttered something in the back that Kouki couldn’t hear, and there were some titters in the back, but Sasaki-sensei chose to move on.

“Are all the fathers like this?” Akashi-san grumbled, face still resolutely pointed towards the front of the class. “They lack basic decency.”

Kouki whispered back, “Not all, but some of them are so loud that it feels like all of them.”

“—And now, perhaps we can have some of the new fathers joining us introduce themselves. I believe we have three new additions, as well as someone new accompanying our Furihata-san,” Sasaki-sensei said it warmly enough, but Kouki wanted to sink low in his seat as multiple eyes turned to stare at them.

The three new fathers stood up and introduced themselves and their children one by one. The father of the girl that he saw Sora playing with stood up last. “My name is Mibuchi Reo, we moved here this year. Thank you for accepting my cute Aina so warmly.”

The man was tall, and was kind of beautiful, in a feminine sort of way. He wore his hair long and the top half of it tied up, with a few strands falling into his eyes. He also dressed cooly, in a woolen cardigan and dark jeans. He was probably the coolest looking man Kouki had ever seen. Kouki stole a glance at Akashi-san. Hm. Maybe second coolest.

Then Sasaki-sensei focused on Akashi-san. “Furihata-san, would you like to introduce the person sitting next to you?”

Kouki felt his throat go dry. He really hated this. Just as he was about to stand up and stutter out an introduction, Akashi-san stood up and smiled gently. “Hello, I am Akashi Seijuurou, Furihata Sora’s godfather.”

There were some mutters and Akashi-san bowed shallowly once before sitting down once more.

“Ah, godfather? I didn’t know you were Christian, Furihata-san.” Sasaki-sensei said, smiling, and continued on to review the material the kids had learned the past few months.

The fathers, for the most part, were subdued for the rest of the time that the teacher spoke. But then it came time to mingle.

Quickly sitting up, he scanned the area to catch sight of Sora, who was playing with Mitsuo and the girl. “Okay, Akashi-san, let’s leave now. This is good. We just have to be fast.”

Before Akashi-san could say something, he made his way over to the kids. “C’mon Sora, we have to go now.”

Sora, Mitsuo, and Aina all pouted up at him. “No, ‘Tou-chan, it’s too early. You gotta eat the snacks.”

Kouki crouched down next to his son, smoothing a hand over his head. “I know buddy, but ‘Tou-chan can’t keep Akashi-san here too long, he is a busy person, remember?”

“Ah, Furihata-kun, we haven’t seen you around much!” A loud voice boomed from behind him, and Kouki’s shoulders slumped. Oh god, they’d found him.

Pasting on a fake smile, he stood up and turned around to face the three men in front of him, whose names he could just not remember. “A-ah, hello…” he gave a small polite bow.

“You kind of disappeared, huh?” one man said, laughing. “I mean, I get it, I would do the same. The stuff they said about you, man,” the man made a pitying sound. “Glad you weren’t there to hear it.”

Kouki chuckled awkwardly, and hoped Sora wasn’t paying any attention. “W-well, you know it wasn’t true, so I just had to wait for the rumours to blow over.”

Another man thumped Kouki on the back, grinning. “We know, you’re too scrawny. But y’know what they say,” the man leaned in, as if sharing a secret. “The men who act submissive outside are monsters at home.”

Kouki furrowed his brows. “Wh-wha…”

The man with the booming laugh waved the guy away from Kouki. “Oi, don’t be rude. What he does at home is his business.”

Flustered, Kouki protested, “I never did anything like that.” His eyes started searching for Akashi-san, but he soon found that Akashi-san was busy chatting up the teacher.

The second man simply smiled. “Don’t worry, it’s fine, we don’t judge. We gotta get rid of stress somehow, eh?”

“I don’t do that,” Kouki repeated, his face growing hot. All his energy was directed towards keeping his tone even. “No one should.”

Suddenly, Kouki felt an arm drape over his shoulders and he tensed automatically. “Oh, what’s this? I’m new around here, can I be included too?”

Kouki looked up. It was the cool guy—Mibuchi Reo. His face was flat, which didn’t match his careless tone.

The first guy’s mouth pressed into a line. “Mibuchi, right?”

“Mhm. Mibuchi- _san_.”

The third man crossed his arms. “We heard stuff about you, y’know.”

Mibuchi-san stood up straighter and leaned forward. Kouki couldn’t see the expression on his face, but he was certain at least one of the men started to pale. “Really? Let’s hear it. _I invite you_.”

“Stupid, that’s rude,” the first man conked the other guy behind the head. “Please ignore him. Let’s go over there guys. We’ll catch up with Furihata-kun later.”

Once the guys were gone, Kouki finally sagged with relief. “Thank you so much, Mibuchi-san. I’m sorry you had to deal with them too.”

Mibuchi-san removed his arm from around Kouki and shrugged in a dainty manner. “Are they always like that?”

Kouki could only really give a short, sad laugh. He didn’t have time to say anything else because Kiyoshi-san, Mitsuo’s dad, bustled over almost immediately. “Were they giving you a hard time again, Furi?”

He sighed and ran a hand through his hair. “I-I, uh. A little. But Mibuchi-san helped me out.”

Unexpectedly, Kiyoshi-san smiled and bowed slightly to Mibuchi-san. “I know, I was going to come help you out but Mibuchi scared the shit out of them. It was good to watch.”

“Shh, Kiyoshi-san, the kids!” Kouki reprimanded lightly, but couldn’t help but laugh. “Yeah, he really scared them. It was cool.”

Mibuchi-san flicked a strand of his hair away from his face with a small smile. “Those bastards should be taught a lesson. I was happy to do it.”

“The kids!” Kouki hissed, wide-eyed at Mibuchi. “Kiyoshi-san, you’ve met your swearing soulmate.”

Kiyoshi-san shook his head, chuckling. “He’s not my swearing soulmate, he’s my swearing mentor.”

“Huh?”

Mibuchi-san sighed. “We were interns at the same company when we were younger. I didn’t know he was here.”

Kiyoshi-san patted Mibuchi-san’s head with a heavy hand, visibly irritating him. “Yup, he taught me all the swear words I know. Mibuchi is really proper, so when he swears it sounds beautiful.”

Mibuchi-san smacked Kiyoshi-san’s hand away. “Agh, stop. My hair. I forgot you were like this. It makes me wanna move again.”

“No, Otou-san! I made friends!” Aina suddenly said, tugging on Mibuchi-san’s cardigan. “You can’t, okay?”

Sighing, Mibuchi-san shook his head. “I was just kidding, sweetheart. Go play.”

“’Tou-chan, where’s Sei-chan?” Sora asked, frowning. “I thought he was supposed to help you.”

“H-help…? Ahh, Sora, you didn’t hear anything, right?” Kouki was anxious, now.

He shook his head. “I didn’t get what they were saying. But I heard Mitsuo-san’s dad say a bad word!”

“Kiyoshi-san!” Kouki automatically scolded, but couldn’t help but laugh. “Don’t repeat it, okay Sora?”

Instead of responding, Sora ran off towards Akashi-san. Kouki watched as he pulled Akashi-san away from the teacher and pointed at Kouki. Akashi-san frowned and absently inclined his head at the teacher in a hasty goodbye before heading over right away. “Furihata-san, did something happen?” he asked, stepping between Kiyoshi-san and Mibuchi-san. He took a glance at each of them and his face soured.

He didn’t want to seem like such a loser in front of his boss, plus he already seemed annoyed. He was probably tired of dealing with Kouki and all these kids. He probably had so much work to do at home. “N-no!” Kouki shook his head and waved away his concern. “Nothing at all. But I’m ready to leave if you are.”

Sora stopped Kouki. “But ‘Tou-chan, you said Sei-chan was supposed to help you.”

“He did help me, Sora, really. We should go now, okay?” Kouki said sweetly. His concern for Kouki was cute.

“Ai-chan’s dad helped you, ‘Tou-chan,” Sora grumbled. Kouki shushed him.

“Ai-chan?” Mibuchi-san repeated, mouth twisting. “Aina, is this your boyfriend? I thought I told you that you couldn’t date until you were married.”

Aina sighed. “Otou-san, these are my new bestest friends, Mitsuo and Sora. I don’t even know what a boyfriend is.”

Mitsuo raised his hand. “I-I know,” he said, hesitant. He pushed his glasses up his nose and faced Aina solemnly. “It’s when you hold hands.”

Aina’s eyebrows creased. “But we all held hands when we were playing ring-around-the-rosey.”

Sora gasped loudly, covering his mouth. “Does this mean we’re all boyfriends?”

“Oh my god,” Kouki pinched the bridge of his nose.

Kiyoshi-san laughed his loud belly laugh. “No, guys. Dating means… when someone is very special to you, and you want to be around them all the time.”

Aina stood between Mitsuo and Sora and grabbed their elbows. “They’re special. I guess we’re all boyfriends.”

Mibuchi-san made a slight choking sound. Akashi-san just stared at them, eyebrows raised.

“Boyfriends!” Sora and Mitsuo cheered, clapping. “What should we do now that we’re all boyfriends?”

“N-no, guys—“ Kouki tried, but Aina cut him off.

“I think we have to hold hands and walk around,” Aina said. The other agreed, immediately clasping hands with each other and walking away from the group.

Kouki shook his head. “I’m gonna tell on you to your wife, Kiyoshi-san.”

Kiyoshi-san chuckled weakly. “Please don’t.”

 

-x-x-x-

 

In the car as they headed back home, Akashi-san and Sora were both weirdly quiet. “Um, thanks for coming Akashi-san. I really appreciated it. I know you have a lot of work to do so—”

He was cut off by Akashi-san’s hand. “It’s fine, Furihata-san, really. I made you take me.”

There was no other way to really reply to that besides an uncomfortable laugh. “N-no, not at all.”

“Hm.”

It made Kouki feel anxious. He knew he was going to start sweating, and to avoid any unfortunate sweat stains on his shirt, Kouki cracked open the window. The cool breeze was welcoming against his face.

And the rest of the ride was spent in silence. Kouki would have thought that Sora had fallen asleep if not for the fact that when Kouki checked the rear view mirror, Sora was resolutely staring out his window with a pout. “You okay there, So-chan?” Kouki had tried, at one point. “You sad to leave your friends? You’ll see them on Monday, y’know.”

“I know,” Sora simply said.

Sora was almost always loud and bright and confident, so seeing him like this was slightly worrying. Kouki would have to look into that once they reached the apartment and Akashi-san went home.

Sneaking a glance at Akashi-san, Kouki noticed that he was doing the same thing as Sora: staring out of the window with a sombre expression.

Eventually, they arrived at the building and Kouki sighed in relief. Unbuckling himself, he opened the door and was about to step out when Akashi-san put a hand on his elbow to stop him. “May I please speak to Furihata-kun?”

That threw Kouki off. “O-oh, uh, sure. D-d’you want me to, like, uh, step out, or…?”

“Yes, please. It will only be a minute.”

Nodding, Kouki stepped out and shut the door behind him, then leaned against his car, waiting.

“Furihata-kun,” Akashi-san said, and Kouki startled. And then he realized that he’d left the window open slightly from before. He felt bad for eavesdropping, honestly, but he couldn’t very well go back in and close the window now. “Are you upset with me?”

Huh? Why would Sora be upset with Akashi-san. He loved Akashi-san. To the point where it was annoying.

However, Sora did not reply.

“I understand I may have upset you, Furihata-kun. I would like to know what I did so that I can apologize properly.”

Sora was still quiet.

Kouki heard Akashi-san sigh and there was the click of the seatbelt unbuckling, and some clothes rustling. “Is it because I wasn’t able to help your father?”

_What?_

“Yeah,” Sora mumbled.

Kouki felt a spear go through his heart. Had Sora heard what the men had said? Why was Kouki so spineless, he should have stood up for himself coolly and confidently, just like Mibuchi-san had done. Then at least Sora could be proud of him. Kouki suddenly felt very warm under his clothes.

“I’m sorry, Furihata-kun,” Akashi-san apologized, and Kouki was taken aback by how remorseful he sounded. He was talking to a six-year-old, but was so serious.

There was some more rustling of clothes, then Sora burst out with, “’Tou-chan said you came to help him! But all you did was talk to my teacher! Those guys weren’t being nice to ‘Tou-chan, and ‘Tou-chan couldn’t fight them off all by himself! Three against one isn’t fair! You were supposed to help him! Now ‘Tou-chan isn’t going to come to my school anymore, only ‘Ji-chan will.” Kouki heard some sniffles, and all he wanted to do was to open the door and scoop Sora into his arms, but he didn’t know if that was the right thing to do. He held the front of his shirt in a tightly closed fist, heart hurting. “This is just like when ‘Kaa-chan ran away from home and everyone was mean to ‘Tou-chan for no reason!”

Sora continued to sniffle, and Akashi-san didn’t say anything. It sounded like he was moving, but Kouki was too nervous to turn around and check. Then, he heard, “I’m so sorry, Furihata-kun. I’m really, truly sorry. Your teacher used to be friends with a person I knew, and so I got distracted. You’re right, I should have done better. Is there any way I could make it up to you? I feel bad for letting your father go through that, and for making you sad.”

“Y-you just gotta take care of ‘Tou-chan next time, okay?” Sora said, words thick from his tears. “It’s okay if you made a mistake. Just don’t make a mistake again, because I don’t want ‘Tou-chan to cry.”

That was what left Kouki in shambles, and he quietly stepped away from the car and stood near the fence, willing himself to not cry. It was overwhelming, being a person’s entire world. To be a cause for concern for someone who was wholly dependent on you. His heart ached, and Kouki tilted his face upward to keep from crying, staring into the evening sky.

He didn’t know how long he stood like that until he heard the door shut. Kouki quickly turned around and tried to smile. “A-all done?”

Akashi-san walked towards him, hands in his pocket. “Yes. Furihata-san, I’m sorry I wasn’t able to fulfill my duties today.”

Kouki forced his grin to be brighter. “Don’t worry, I was fine! And Mibuchi-san turned out to be a great help.”

“No, it wasn’t right of me. That was the whole reason I attended this event with you, and I couldn’t even do that. May I make it up to you? And Sora? It seems that he was upset by this as well.”

Kouki shook his head. “Y-you don’t have to do that, really.”

“I insist. Would you be okay with ice-cream? Furihata-kun specifically requested it.” Akashi-san chuckled lightly. “We could take my car to a nice ice-cream place.”

“I-I, uh—”

Akashi-san cut Kouki off before he could say anything further. “Please, Furihata-san. I, myself, would not be comfortable until I did this for you.”

Kouki sighed. “A-alright, I guess, if Sora is okay with it.”

And in that moment, the orange light of the sun dipping below the horizon illuminated Akashi-san’s red eyes and hair, and made his face glow in a way that unexpectedly left Kouki breathless. Akashi-san chose that moment to smile a small but genuine smile. “Thank you. I’ll go start my car.”

And while Akashi-san was able to turn away and start walking towards his car, Kouki had to slump against the fence and hold a hand against his rapidly beating heart. Today was filled with too many uncalled-for emotions and he wasn’t coping well.

“’Tou-chan, ice cream!” Sora yelled, and Kouki startled. He found Sora staring up at him curiously.

“How’d you get out of the car?”

“I figured out seat belts!” Sora said proudly, and Kouki smiled. His son was really the best.

Kouki kneeled down and pulled Sora into a hug. “Whatcha doin’ ‘Tou-chan!” Sora said, voice muffled against the lapel of Kouki’s jacket.

“So-chan, thank you for being you,” was what Kouki ended up saying, though he wanted to say a million more things, like telling him not to worry about Kouki, and that he was the bravest kid in the world, probably.

Sora pulled away and made a face, not meeting his eyes. “Aaah, ‘Tou-chan, that’s embarrassing. Don’t say that stuff.”

Kouki burst out laughing. “Are you being shy?” he poked Sora’s belly. “Is my little So-chan being shy? Are you shy when I compliment you?”

“’Tou-chaaaan,” Sora whined, hiding his grin behind his hands.

There was a honk and the both of them immediately looked up to find a sleek black car idling in front of them. The window rolled down to reveal Akashi-san. “Come in, bring Furihata-kun’s car seat.”

Kouki and Sora grinned at each other. “Ice cream!” they whispered excitedly to each other.

They got Sora set up snuggly in the back, and Kouki went around to the passenger seat. The car was already warm, and the seats were leather, and there wasn’t a stain in sight; not even on the windows!

“Your car is amazing, Akashi-san,” Kouki couldn’t help but say, unable to keep the awe out of his voice.

Akashi-san shrugged. “It does its job.”

The ride to the ice cream shop was also quiet, but not the terse quiet from earlier. It was light, and Kouki didn’t mind it one bit.

Once they reached the ice cream shop, Akashi-san lifted Sora up so that he could see of the flavours, reading out each label for him, then turned to beckon Kouki closer. “You choose as well. What would you like?”

He scanned the menu and the choices for a minute. “Hm, chocolate.”

Sora was outraged by his choice. “Chocolate? ‘Tou-chan, they have marshmallow-banana-sprinkle-supreme and you want _chocolate_?”

Kouki lightly flicked Sora on the head. “Oi, don’t choose anything too expensive. Just pick a normal flavour.”

Akashi-san shook his head. “Nonsense. Furihata-kun can have whatever flavour he wants. Don’t listen to Furihata-san, he doesn’t know how to appreciate something like marshmallow-banana-sprinkle-supreme.”

“You’re right, Sei-chan! I’ll order for him too. I want marshmallow-banana-sprinkle-supreme, and ‘Tou-chan can have that one with the caramel and the nuts. Okay, ‘Tou-chan?” Sora wiggled until Akashi-san put him down, then grinned up at Kouki as if he was a cat who had just caught a big mouse.

“Hm, looks like someone is getting to be a little bossy,” Kouki said in faux-disappointment. “Maybe we’ll have a talk when we go home.”

Sora pouted. “’Tou-chaaan, nooo, I’m sorry. I just know more about ice-cream. Just trust me.”

“Ah,” Kouki nodded, serious. “Well, if you know more about ice cream, then that’s a different story.”

Akashi-san then appeared, trying to hold three cones. “Please take yours, Furihata-san.”

Kouki quickly took it from him, and ushered Sora over to an empty table. Once everyone was settled and Sora had taken a lick of his ice cream, Kouki tapped Sora’s shoulder. “What do you say?”

Sora grinned brightly at Akashi-san. “Thank you, Sei-chan! This is so yummy! You wanna try?”

Akashi-san shook his head politely, eyeing the cone in Sora’s hands. “Thank you, but it’s okay. I like cherry.”

“Thank you, Akashi-san,” Kouki also said, thoroughly enjoying his ice cream. Akashi-san looked up to smile at him, but then his smile became frozen. “Are you okay, Akashi-san?”

“Uh, yes,” Akashi-san coughed.

Kouki shrugged and went back to licking his ice cream, fussing over Sora every once in a while. “Sora, oh no, it’s melting! Lick this before it goes to your fingers!”

Sora did his best, but the ice cream was too fast and soon his hands were covered in the sticky liquid. Kouki took the cone into his hand and did a long lick all around the ice cream to scoop up all the melty-bits.

There was a sudden screech of the chair and Akashi-san was standing up. “I’m going to go get some napkins,” he said over his shoulder as he hurried away.

Kouki shrugged and held the cone for Sora as he continued to eat.

“’Tou-chan,” Sora said.

“Yes, Sora?”

“Y’know how I got two boyfriends today?”

“So-Sora!” Kouki cried out, laughing hopelessly. “Sora, no, that’s not what boyfriends are!”

“Mitsu-chan’s dad said so, ‘Tou-chan. He doesn’t lie.”

“I—”

“Anyway, ‘Tou-chan, because I have two boyfriends, you can have a boyfriend too! You can hold hands with Sei-chan! And then you’d have two boyfriends like me: Sei-chan and ‘Kaa-chan.”

Kouki shook his head. “Sora that’s not how boyfriends work, firstly, and second,” Kouki came closer, lowering his voice. “Secondly, _that is my boss_ ,” he hissed. “I can’t do that!”

“I think you can,” Sora said, turning his nose up with an air of confidence that seemed completely unfounded to Kouki. “More ice cream, please.”

After a few minutes, Akashi-san finally returned with a fistful of napkins, some of them damp. He gently took one of Sora’s hands and started scrubbing them clean.

“Thank you, Akashi-san, sorry for this. I didn’t realize how messy Sora was,” Kouki apologized, unimpressed by how pleased Sora looked with himself as he had his hands cleaned.

Akashi-san wouldn’t really meet Kouki’s eyes. “That’s okay. But you might want to take care of your ice cream, it looks like it’s melting too.”

“Oh!” Kouki quickly lapped at his ice cream, then saw Akashi-san’s fingers being covered in pink. “Yours too. Would you like me to hold yours?”

“Ah, thank you,” Akashi-san said.

Holding three ice creams was a little difficult, especially when they were melting fast, but Kouki didn’t want to lick Akashi-san’s ice cream, that would be weird.

“You’re all messy too!” Sora laughed, pointing at Kouki, and Kouki sighed in exasperation.

Once Sora was all cleaned, he handed the ice creams back to their respective owners, then looked down at his hands in resignation. “I’ll need some napkins, too,” Kouki mumbled. He noticed a drip of ice cream going down towards his jacket cuff, so in a hurry Kouki licked it up, and slurped some of the ice cream off his fingers. “Oh, this doesn’t taste so bad, even when all the flavours are all mixed up.”

Akashi-san was staring resolutely at the table. “I’m going to go get more napkins.”

“Um, thanks, Akashi-san,” Kouki said, a little confused by his behaviour. “Are you alright?”

Akashi-san got up and nodded twice. “Yes, I’m fine. Just feeling a little warm. I’m going to go to the washroom, I’ll be back shortly.”

“Oh, but napkins…” Kouki trailed off. Akashi-san was already too far away. “I guess I’ll go get them.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys!!!
> 
> Thank you for reading!! This chapter is shorter than usual, I apologize, but it felt like a good place to stop. Please leave me some feedback, I would love to know your thoughts and where I can make improvements!!
> 
> Thank you also for dealing with my slow updates. I really want to finish this story one day, however, so I'm gonna keep at it. I've never finished a story before, so I would love to finish this one. 
> 
> I hope all of you are happy! <3 <3

**Author's Note:**

> Hi! Thank you for reading! You can follow me on tumblr here [gllowingllanterns.tumblr.com](http://gllowingllanterns.tumblr.com/) if you so wish to! :D


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